


Every Scar Has a Story

by Ecaus12



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Cowgirl, F/F, Slow Burn, cowgirl nicole, rancher AU, rodeo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-03 08:01:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8704162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ecaus12/pseuds/Ecaus12
Summary: Nicole is an up and coming rodeo star who moves out to Purgatory, Wyoming to launch her career. Waverly Earp is a small town girl who is sick and tired of her monotonous life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this fic, and its tittle, came from the song "Every Scar Has a Story" by Cody Johnson. That's also where I got the idea for Nicole's horse's name.  
> I'm a big rodeo fan, but I don't claim to be an expert, so if anything is inaccurate, please understand that.  
> This story does explore the issue of substance abuse in the rodeo at the beginning. 
> 
> If you are interested in listening to a playlist of songs that inspired/I listened to while writing this:  
> https://play.spotify.com/user/ecaustin18/playlist/47aoD9vkskxPsXGjSMjzww

           Nicole sighed. She tipped her hat back and pulled herself up onto the railing. She draped her arms over the top, casually resting a foot on the middle rail. She smiled as she watched the calves mill around the holding pen. She had always had a soft spot for these creatures. Their breath sent up steam in the early morning air.

            The air was crisp, the first wisps of fall in the September air. She pulled the caller of her coat up around her neck as she watched the young cows as the sun began to peak out from behind the mountains. When you live in the mountains you get used to sunrise just being the glow of the sun from behind the mountains, and Nicole was growing to love it.

            This place was nothing like where she came from. Nothing like the flat Midwest plains that her family calls home. There, you can see for miles, the only thing that might block your sight is a windmill.

            Nicole hopped back down and made her way back to her truck. Whiskey was tied out, munching on some grass. Nicole walked up and scratched her neck, “Hey girl,”

            Nicole ducked into the small living quarters of the trailer and grabbed the coffee she had been waiting on. She sat down on a foldout chair and took a drink.

            “Are you ready to kick some ass today, Whiskey?” She asked the horse.

            The bay looked at her, munching grass.

            “That’s what I thought” Nicole said.

            “You know, talking to the horses isn’t crazy, but when they start answering….” The gruff voice trailed off as he walked up to her. The man was short and kind of round, a thick mustache hiding his upper lip, he looked tired.

            “Hey Dr. Nedley. She thankfully hasn’t answered yet,”

            “Just wanted to make sure that little suture job I did last night is doing good,” He said walking up the horse, running his hand along her side as he went to her rear and lifted her back right leg. It had been a small cut, but deep, needing 4 stitches.

            “She hasn’t been favoring it or anything. I still feel like crap that I didn’t noticed the busted piece of metal in the trailer,” Nicole stood up and shook her head at the thought, “Would you like some coffee?” Nicole offered.

            The vet set the horse’s foot back down and wiped his hands on his pants, “Thank you for the offer, but I’ve got to go help out with livestock checks, make sure everyone’s healthy enough for tonight,” He pat the horses neck, “I much prefer the equines,”

            Nicole chuckled, “I believe it,”  
            The two bid each other a good day and Nicole stretched. It was about time she got started prepping for the rodeo.

            She loved competition day. She loved the order, the prep, and the buzz in the air that came with it. She stepped into the small living area of the trailer. It had a small cot up above shelves that housed a microwave, a mini fridge and a coffee maker, all bolted down so they didn’t migrate during travel. She still thanked her dad for surprising her with a renovation of the old beat up trailer she had bought. The rest of the space has a small counter and a closet.

            Nicole opened the closet and took out the crisp black button up shirt; she hung it up on the door. She then took out the jeans and the cowboy boots, setting them to the side. She then took out the hatbox. She had on her everyday cowboy hat: an old straw Stetson with a battered leather hatband. But her competition hat, that was her pride and joy. It was her version of her Sunday dress. A handsome black felt hat with a simple black hatband, a not too flashy silver buckle finished it off. She had just had it steamed and shaped before leaving town. It was made of soft felt and had cost her a pretty penny.

            She stepped outside started brushing Whiskey, braided her mane and picked her hooves, making sure her shoes were on securely. She went into the tack closet and pulled out the sawhorse. Ever since she was a little kid she had giggled at the sight of a sawhorse sitting next to a real horse.

            She pulled all the tack out and made sure it was clean and ready to go, dusting some stray dirt off the saddle.

            Today was going to be a good day.

 

 

            Waverly had once really enjoyed the rodeo. It was this small towns only real industry. They were the jumping off point for cowboys to the western rodeo circuit. They were no Cheyenne, but they played their role.

            But right now she really wasn’t enjoying it. When she was a kid, it had been an event to go to, a reason to dress up, and a reason to go out and see people. Now it was an obligation. Dating a bull rider will do that, and dating a bad bull rider is a surefire way to make sure your love the rodeo wanes.

            Champ was sitting next to her. Bull riding was always the last event of the night, so he sat next to her during team roping; it was a little tradition of theirs. Champ would only sit with her during team roping. He didn’t like the bulldoggers and he thought the bronc busters were cowards for not getting up on a bull. And Waverly didn’t like to watch barrel racing with him, she didn’t like the reminder that he had slept with most of those girls, or was going to down the road.

            So team roping was what they watched together.

            Champ snorted, then spit some tobacco juice into a well-abused plastic Mountain Dew bottle. He had sworn he would quit chewing, and Waverly was not going to be kissing him tonight with his mouth full of that shit.

            “Look, some girl think she can rope,” he pointed the to the two riders that came into the arena. The girl had ivory skin, an auburn braid tucked into her cowboy hat and a crisp, starched shirt.

            “Oh and some-“ Waverly cut Champ off before he could say anything more when she noticed the dark skin on the man opposite the girl as they backed their horses into the boxes.

            “Champ, that’s incredibly racist and sexist of you! Girls can rope, and you know as well as I do that historically, most cowboys were either black or from Mexico,”

            Champ rolled his eyes, “History, Blah, blah, facts, blah, blah,”

            Waverly could feel her blood boiling.

            But was distracted when she saw the man give the nod. He deftly roped the steer around the head, and then his horse veered to the left, pulling the steer. The girl deftly threw her rope and caught both the hind legs neatly. The horse backed up, pulling the steer out.

            Waverly looked up at the time, 5.1. The two had a big smile on their faces, that time put them at the top of the leader board.

            “And you said girls cant rope,” Waverly said smugly.

            “She got lucky”

            “Heading is luck, healing is skill,” Waverly repeated the words her dad used to say to her.

            “Yeah, sure. I’m going to go get ready,” Champ stood and limped off without a second look.

            Waverly stood up too, not really sure what she thought she was going to do, but on a mission nonetheless.

            She walked to the back of the arena, where all the competitors were. She couldn’t remember the girl’s name, but she tried to find her, wanting to congratulate her.

            She spotted the auburn braid handing off the horse to someone else. Waverly made a b-line to the girl, almost running into her.

            “Hi. I’m Waverly, I wanted to congratulate you on the awesome roping today,” Waverly said it fast; it almost sounded angry.

            Nicole took a step back, unsure of why this woman looked so frazzled, and sounded angry.

            “Thank you,” Nicole said, her confusion coming out slightly in her tone.

            “I’m sorry I like attacked you on that, I’m just mad at my boyfriend. When you two came out to rope he was all ‘girls cant rope’ and I ah, wow I’m rambling,” Waverly rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly just a little lost in the surprised looking brown eyes looking down at her, “thank you for kicking ass so I could rub it in his face later,”

            Nicole cracked a smile, “No problem,” She offered her hand, “I’m Nicole, Nicole Haught,”

            Waverly was only faintly aware that she was holding on to Nicole’s hand still, “I’m Waverly,”

            Nicole gave her hand a squeeze and let go of it. She gave the smaller girl a wry smile, “So I’ve heard,”

            “Oh, right. I already said that. Ah, well, ah, your horse was amazing today,” Waverly said dumbly.

            “Oh, that old chestnut isn’t mine. He’s a buddy of mine’s roping horse. He’s going to be getting a share of our winnings if we pull this off,” Nicole said, “My horse’s name is Whiskey, she’s a barrels horse,”

            “You barrel race too? I tried it once in 4H, not my cup of tea,” Waverly smiled.

            “Yeah, why don’t you come out to my trailer after we race and you can meet her?”

            “I cant. I ah, have plans. I’m a planner,” Waverly stumbled on her words.

            “Well, I have to go get Whiskey warmed up. Do you live around here? I just moved out here, and if you would like, we should get together some time,”

            “Yeah, sure, sure thing, sounds great,” Waverly said all the words way too fast.

           

 

 

            Nicole threw herself up into the saddle. She could feel that Whiskey knew exactly what was about to happen.

            “Shhhh, easy now girl,” she patted the horse’s neck. They walked over to the waiting shoot. She can hear the announcer trying to hype the crowd up for barrel racing.

            Nicole sat comfortably in her saddle and looked around her. If you looked at this group, you would point her out as the one that didn’t belong. Most barrel racers were flashy; gaudy sparkles, pink, saddle decorations. Nicole in contrast was wearing the same thing most of the male ropers did. Her saddle had pretty detailing, but wasn’t flashy. Her boots were practical, with not a shade of pink on them. Nicole smiled to herself; she had always kind of been the black sheep. But thanks to that black sheep status she didn’t have to deal with the drama the other racers did. She had heard one to many stories of one of the girls being burned by some no good rodeo man.

            Nicole watched them move up the line. As they got closer and closer to the front Whiskey got more and more anxious.

            When finally they got to the front Nicole patted Whiskey’s neck, “You ready, girl?”

            “Up next, ladies and gentlemen, we have a special treat all the way from Indiana. Nicole Haught and Whiskey!”

            With a click of her tongue and touch of spurs, Whiskey shot out like a gun.

            “Yah!” Nicole used the reins to signal Whiskey to speed up. Whiskey slowed down and turned around the first barrel, cutting it as close as possible. She sprinted the short distance to the second barrel; this time cutting it so close that Nicole had to lift her inside foot at the last second to keep from knocking the barrel over.

            Whiskey came out of the turn and Nicole spurred her on around the third barrel.

            “Ladies and Gentlemen, Help them on home!!!” The announcer called over the PA system.

            “Yah!” Nicole shouted as she spurred Whiskey on the straightaway back through the gates.

            “Give Whiskey and Ms. Haught a round of applause! With a time of 15 and 2, that puts them at the top of the leader board!”

            Nicole pulled Whiskey up and they circled back around. Nicole could feel the adrenaline coursing through her. She patted the horse on the neck, “Good girl!”

            The smile plastered on Nicole’s face went from ear to ear. She pushed her hat back and sighed.

            “Damn girl, that was a mighty fine ride,” A blonde on a chestnut pony said as she pulled up next to her.

            “Thank you,” Nicole beamed at the women.

            “I was impressed,” The women flashed her a smile. Nicole noticed the look the women gave her, “I’ll be at the party later, hopefully I’ll see you there,”

            “Maybe you will,” Nicole smiled.

           

           

            Waverly was standing next to Champ at the customary after rodeo barn dance.

            This particular barn had been retrofitted with a bar, tables and a dance floor.

            Waverly watched as Champ pulled a small Ziploc bag from his pocket and quickly popped two white pills into his mouth.

            “Champ!” Waverly said in a hushed tone.

            “What?” He stuffed the bag back into his pocket before swigging from the glass of whiskey in his hand.

            “What was it?”

            “Why does it matter?” He downed the whiskey. He was licking his wounds, both figuratively and literally, after getting thrown three times.

            Waverley sighed, “Just tell me,”

            He huffed, “Vicodin, the name brand stuff too,”

            “Well good for you,” She said coldly, despite the familiar pit of dread growing in her stomach.

            “I don’t know why you care so much,” He continued.

            “Because, Champ, one of these days you’re going to kill yourself with that shit,” Waverly was sick of having this conversation. She set her drink down and made a b-line for the door.

            “Waverly! Come back! Babe!” he called after her.

            Waverly kept her head down, marching towards the door, until she hit something-or rather someone.

            Firm hands grabbed her arms, “Whoa, when you get to walking, nothing stops you, does it?”

            Waverly looked up at the sound of the familiar voice and was met by the soft brown eyes she had met earlier that evening.

            “Nicole! I am so sorry,” Waverly stammered, “I didn’t expect to see you here,”

            Nicole let go of Waverly and took a half step back.

            “You didn’t expect to see me at the rodeo after party?” Nicole asked, cocking an eyebrow at the brunette.

            “Well, admittedly, that sounded stupid,”

            Nicole gave her a small smile, “Waverly, are you ok?”

            “Yeah, its just my boyfriend…” Waverly trailed off.

            “Was being a shithead?” Nicole finished.

            “Yeah,” Waverly huffed out and jammed her hands in her back pockets.

            “Come on,” Nicole motioned for Waverly to follow her.

            “Where are we going?” Waverly asked as she followed Nicole out the doors and into the chilly night air.

            “Trust me,” Nicole said as they walked towards the rodeo grounds.

            Nicole deftly climbed the fence and then helped Waverly over.

            “What are we doing here?” Waverly asked.

            “I wanted to show you something, I feel like you might appreciate it,”

            They finally arrived at the holding pastures. Nicole hopped up onto the fence of the pen and held her hand out to help Waverly up, “Come on, come look,”

            Waverly rolled her eyes, unfolding her arms that had been crossed over her chest. She climbed the fence and looked into the pen. A mare, solid chestnut, was grazing. Along her side was a foal, it was the same color but with a big white blaze on its face.

            “You’re looking that the future of the rodeo. That little colt was born of some of the best bucking stock in Wyoming,” Nicole said.

            “He’s so cute!” Waverly gushed.

            They watched the foal curl up with is mother for the night, the light of the almost full moon being just enough to be able to see.

            “Thank you,” Waverly looked at the women next to her, a virtual stranger, but she had already shown Waverly so much kindness.

            “No problem. Sometimes all you need is to be reminded of the beauty of life,” Nicole motioned towards the horses.

            They stayed there, the chilly night air turning their breath to a subtle fog.

            “Does the offer still stand to meet your horse?” Waverly asked.

            Nicole cracked a smile, “Of course,” she hopped down and held a hand out to help Waverly, and this time Waverly actually accepted it.

            They headed to the holding barn, where all the competitors horses stayed.

            With a small grunt Nicole opened the stall and they walked inside.

            “Hey, girl. I’ve got someone who wants to meet you,” Nicole patted the horse’s neck.

            “Waverly, this is Whiskey, the aforementioned barrels hose who stole my heart, and many of my carrots, over the years,”

            Waverly reached out and pet the nose of the bay, “She’s pretty. And damn good, as is evident from that brand new buckle on your belt,”

            Nicole had already had her hands grasping her belt, framing the shiny new buckle, “Thanks. I like to think I had a small role to play in our ride, but sure, most of the credit goes to Whiskey here,”

            Waverly laughed, “Someone’s pride is fragile,”

            Nicole scoffed, “I mean, have you ever met any of us rodeo folk? Rodeo is synonymous for fragile pride,” Nicole scratched the horse behind the ear, “But in all honesty, rodeo is about 90% having a good horse. And I am thankful for Whiskey. Not only does she help me pay the bills, but she’s a damn good friend on the road,”

            “Did you train her?” Waverly asked.

            “Sure did,” Nicole beamed with pride. They both shifted awkwardly on their feet in the silence, “If you want, you can come down to my trailer. I’ll break out the good whiskey,”

            Waverly’s eyes lit up, “Oh, Nicole Haught, you don’t know any better, but you should never offer an Earp whiskey,”

            “I’ve always been the type that has to learn the hard way,” Nicole gave Waverly a wink, “Come on, follow me,”

            Nicole led Waverly to her truck and trailer. She disappeared inside the trailer pulling out 2 folding chairs, then disappeared again and came back with two blankets. She set up the chairs and then went back inside one last time, coming back out with two tin cups and a bottle of whiskey.

            “Ah, cowgirl, we have a problem,” Waverly crossed her arms over her chest.

            “A-what?” Nicole stopped in her tracks.

            Waverly smirked at the way Nicole’s face fell and the look of panic on her face, “Is that a Chevy I see before me?”

            Nicole’s heart started beating again and she felt herself relax, “Ah yeah, is that a problem?”

            “I just don’t usually associate with Chevy drivers. I’m a proud Ford owner,”

            “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Nicole smirked as she sat down and poured whiskey into each of the empty tin cups.

            Waverly shook her head and sat down, accepting the cup from Nicole. She took a sip, “You weren’t kidding about breaking out the good stuff,”

            “You have a nose for whiskey?” Nicole asked.

            “Well, us Earp’s are known for our consumption of it, but I’m also a bar tender,” Waverly said.

            Nicole nodded, “Well, its not everyday I get to celebrate two buckles and a new friend,”

            Waverly raised her cup to clink it with Nicole’s, “To new friends,”

            They drank in silence for a bit, “Ah, if you don’t mind me asking, what were you and your boyfriend fighting about?”

            Waverly snorted, “The same thing we fight about every week. Have you ever dated a bull rider?”

            Nicole looked a touch uncomfortable, “Ah… no…”

            “Well, I don’t suggest it. After every rodeo we fight about him taking pills. And I get it, you get busted up in this sport, but I’m sick of it,”

            “Cowboy candy is a problem,” Nicole gave a knowing nod, “It’s not just the bull riders and bronc busters, it’s the bulldoggers and the tie down ropers too. It’s everywhere in this sport,” Nicole said bluntly.

            “Champ is a good guy,” Waverly started, “But we’ve been together for so long now. We just keep going back to each other, like magnets that make poor decisions,”

            “What do you mean?” Nicole wasn’t following what Waverly was trying to say.

            “We break up and get back together constantly. Do you know how many times he’s cheated on me? But, he’s safe. I know what I’m getting with Champ. So, I somehow always go back,”

            Nicole took a gulp of whiskey, taking a second to feel the fire slide down her throat, “I don’t know you or Champ. But, I think someone who cheats, especially more than once, has to be of weak mind,”

            “Champ’s and idiot,” Waverly confirmed, “How about you, relationship?”

            Nicole looked down at the tin cup in her hand, tracing the rim with her index finger, “My girlfriend and I broke up a couple months ago. When I told her I was moving out west to pursue rodeo, it all fell apart,”

            “Oh, I’m sorry,” Waverly said. Waverly was caught off guard by the sense of relieve she felt by what Nicole had said.

            “We were headed that way anyway, she doesn’t want to live out here. She would’ve hated me being gone so much, and working odd jobs to pay the entry fees. She wanted a stable partner, someone who would have steady income and a predictable life,”

            “Well, if it counts for anything, I think predictable is boring,”

            Nicole smiled, “Oh, it means more than you know,”

            “And, if you are looking for work, my sister, Wynonna, and I just inherited our old beat up family ranch. We are going to at least try and get it back into some sort of shape. We could use an extra set of hands,”

            “That would be wonderful, thank you very much,” Nicole tipped her hat at the girl.

            “It would be our pleasure!” Waverly said.

            “My first job in town, see I knew this whiskey was called for!” Nicole poured more into both of their cups.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Nicole drove up the dusty road leading to Earp Ranch. Waverly wasn’t kidding when she said the ranch was old and run down. The fence in the front was broken in places and the mailbox post was crooked.

            Waverly ran out to meet her, wrapping her in a warm hug, “Nicole! Thank you for coming out! Come, meet my sister,” Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand and drug her inside.

            ‘Wynona!” Waverly called out when they entered the house.

            A women with auburn hair, a leather jacket and boots came down the stairs, “What, Waverly?”

            “This is Nicole, the one I told you about who was willing to help out around here?”

            “By willing, I’m assuming you didn’t tell her it was haunted?” Wynonna said as she descended the last few steps, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Waverly’s sister, Wynonna,”

            “It’s nice to meet you as well,” Nicole said, “What’s this about haunting?”

            “So I was right, you didn’t tell her,” Wynona laughed.

            Waverly glared at her older sister, “That’s because its not actually haunted. It’s just an old farm house in the middle of nowhere, it’s going to make weird sounds,”

            “I mean we could always sage it to make sure,” Nicole offered with a slight smile.

            “See, this girl has a good head on her shoulders,” Wynonna clapped Nicole on the back. Then grabbed her keys, “If you need me, you know where I’ll be,”

            Wynonna headed out the door, letting the screen door slam behind her. They stood in the entryway just looking at each other for a second.           

            “Where is she going?” Nicole asked.

            “I’m not really sure, actually,”

            Nicole raised an eyebrow, unsure of what that meant, but also not wanting to over step as a new friend. She decided to change the subject, “Ok, well, what are we working on today?”

            “How much experience do you have putting up fence?” Waverly asked.

            “I grew up on a farm, so a decent amount,” Nicole said.

            Waverly sighed, “Oh thank God, because I have no idea what I’m doing, and we need to replace the whole front section,”

            Nicole laughed, “Well, I’m happy to be you’re knight in shinning armor anytime,”

            “Watch out, I might actually take you up on that,” Waverly said as she lead Nicole out to the barn.

            Nicole smiled and followed, pulling her work gloves out of her back pocket.

            “So we already have everything we need loaded into the truck, we just have to drive it out there,” Waverly motioned towards and old, light blue, Ford F250.

            Nicole stopped, “I’ll walk,”

            Waverly had the driver side door open, she stopped to look at Nicole, “Ok, suit yourself,” she shrugged and hopped up into the truck and fired up the engine. She cranked down the window, “Last call, cowgirl,”

            Nicole broke out into a wide grin, “Alright, wait for me,”

            She hurried around the truck and hoped inside. Waverly put the truck into gear and pulled out onto the path.

            “So how much fence are we talkin’?” Nicole asked as she watched Waverly shift through the gears in the old truck.

            “About a mile, it’s going to take us a couple days,” Waverly said.

            Nicole let out a whistle, “Oh, that’s going to be more like a week, minimum,”

            “Really? Shit,” Waverly thumped the steering wheel, “Champ said it would take a couple days, max,”

            “Maybe if you hired a crew to do it,” Nicole said, “but if it’s just the two of us, it’s going to be a slow go, especially if they are set in concrete. No offense, but can you even lift the fence posts?”

            Waverly side-eyed Nicole, “I might be small, but I’m strong. I will need help standing them up though, at 5 foot nothing, it can be pretty hard for me,”

            Nicole chuckled, “I bet. Hey, speaking of Champ, where is he?”

            Nicole could see Waverly’s shoulders fall, “He should be by later today. He’s all but useless before noon,”

            “So if you hadn’t run into me last week, you would be doing this by yourself today?” Nicole asked.

            Waverly brought the truck to a stop, “Yes ma’am,”

            Nicole was never good at biding her tongue, “Well, that would have sucked,”

            “Yeah, thankfully you came riding in on your horse, I saw the glint of your suit of armor and knew you were the women for the job,” Waverly gave her a wink.

            “It’s lucky for you that my brother and I put up 3 miles of fence last summer,”

            Nicole hoped out and looked at the expanse of split rail fence that they would have to put up, but first they had to get rid of the old decrepit fencing that was left over from, more than likely, when the farm was settled. Nicole groaned internally when she realized it was a split rail fence they were putting up, and that the old fence hadn’t been taken down first.

            “We have to pull all of those old fence posts, unless you’re trying to save them,” Nicole said pointing down the line into the distance.

            “Most of them are rotted, so we might as well pull them all,” Waverly said.

            “Looking at this, we aren’t even going to put posts in today. We should go back to the house, unload the truck and get tools,”

            Waverly sighed, “I’m sorry, I probably should have consulted you before dragging you out here,”

            Nicole looked down at the girl next to her; she looked defeated. Nicole felt bad, but she was just being frank, “Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. How were you supposed to know? We can go back, get a plan of attack worked out, and get you some work gloves, I wouldn’t want those pretty hands of yours getting all splintered up,”

            Waverly blushed slightly, “Alrighty, are you sure you are going to survive multiple trips in a Ford?”

            “Well, the company sure does help make it bearable,” Nicole gave her a wink before running around to the truck and getting in.

            They drove back and Nicole watched as the fence went by, taking in what they had in store. Once back they stacked the fencing in the barn to keep it out of the elements.

            “Where are the tools around here?” Nicole asked.

            “We should have some in the barn, but no guarantee about what’s in there,” Waverly said.

            They walked in and Nicole looked around. She found what they needed quickly enough. It almost seemed as though someone had intended on doing this same job, long ago.

            They loaded up the supplies and some water and headed back out. Nicole was pleased that she also found an old tractor jack. The sun was a quarter the way into the sky before they got started. The air was crisp but warming up, the wisps of fall being pushed out by what was left of the summer.

            The first couple fence posts were rotted through and easy enough for Nicole to push over. The work was slow and hard, but they were making a good pace, all things considering.

            “I think we might have gotten lucky, so far none of these posts are set in concrete,” Nicole said as she wiggled a post out of the ground.

            By the time the midday sun was in the sky, Nicole had the sleeves of her flannel rolled up to the elbow and more than one streak of mud on her face. Waverly was drilling holes and fixing the rig they made, designed to let Nicole get a grip on the post with the tractor jack so she could rip them out of the ground.

            After each post was pulled out, Waverly would remove the rig from the post while Nicole jacked the next one out of the ground. Once both were out and the rigs removed, they would load them into the truck.

            They worked like this, methodically, silently. Nicole would occasionally force Waverly to take a break. She was strong, but Nicole could tell she wasn’t used to this kind of physical labor.

            They stopped and headed back to the house for lunch, unloading all of the old fence posts from the truck bed before they headed inside.

            “What do you want for lunch? I’ve got stuff for sandwiches, left over lasagna, salad…” Waverly offered up as she poured them each a cold glass of water.

            “What ever you’re having, I’ll happily eat,” Nicole said. She felt a bit embarrassed she hadn’t brought a lunch, but when Waverly described the job, she thought they were doing small sections, a two-day job tops.

            “Ham sandwiches?” Waverly asked.

            “That sounds amazing,” Nicole smiled.

            Waverly made the sandwiches and they sat on the pouch eating. Neither of them said it, but they could both feel the relief of the other to be sitting down.

            “So, not exactly the job I thought I was asking you to do,” Waverly said sheepishly.

            “Its not bad, those posts aren’t set very well anymore anyway. You’re lucky any of them are standing,” Nicole said, “And count your blessings for those that aren’t anymore,”

            Waverly chuckled, “How long do you think this is going to take us?”

            Nicole took a bite of sandwich, mulling over her answer, “Its probably going to take us about three days just to get all that split rail out of the way. If we had two more people, we could be filling in the fence as we went, but setting split rail is a two-man job. I’m just happy I found that old tractor jack, or else we would have to dig those damn posts out,”

            Waverly grimaced, “its hard as it is!”  

            Waverly looked over at Nicole and noticed a smudge of dirt on her face, “Hold on,” She said to Nicole, taking her napkin and wetting it in her glass of water, “you have some dirt on your face,” she said as she gently wiped it off.

            Nicole could feel herself melting into Waverly’s touch, “Thank you,” Nicole said softly.            

            The moment passed and they headed back out to where they had left off, working in a comfortable silence. Nicole ditched her flannel, working in a white v-neck, the sun warm on her back, but a light breeze was tossing around hairs that had escaped Nicole’s braid. Waverly was working in old t-shirt from high school, a bandana tied around her head.

            “You were right about these work gloves,” Waverly said as she screwed the jig to the fence post.

            Nicole chuckled, “I’ve been known to know a thing or two,”

            Waverly picked up a clot of dirt and threw it at Nicole. Nicole stopped and gave Waverly a look that said, “Is this the game you want to play?”

            Nicole grabbed some damp earth from the recently vacated hole and ran up to Waverly, smearing it on the back of her shirt.

            “You are dead, Haught,” Waverly said.

            “Yeah, that’s what all the girls in high school used to say,” Nicole laughed.

            Waverly cracked up, laughing so hard she ended up having to brace herself against her knees.

            The mood changed as soon as they both noticed the shiny new pickup truck coming down the dirt path.

            “Is that Champ?” Nicole asked.

            “I sure hope so, if not it’s a stranger, and since the gate still isn’t fixed, I guess it could be,” Waverly gave Nicole a small smile.

            Champ hoped out of his truck. He was wearing jeans tucked into boots and a black t-shirt tucked into his jeans. Nicole noticed his extensive tattoos, his hair gelled back and the smug look on his face.

            “Hello ladies,” He came walking up, “You guys are still pulling fence posts? What’s taking so long?”

            Nicole could feel herself shrink as she saw the fire in Waverly’s eyes spark, “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

            “I was merely commenting on how slow you were going,” He said, “and my gorgeous girl shouldn’t be doing all this heavy lifting,” He tried to snake his arms around her, but she batted them away.

            “Excuse me? We have been working out here since 8am. Maybe we would have been going faster had you gotten here before 3pm!”

            “Well I’m here now, what do you want me to do?” He shot back.

            Nicole decided it was time to step in, “We have a pretty good rhythm pulling the posts, how about you load up the old posts into the truck?”

            Champ made a face that Nicole couldn’t read, and then saluted her, “Sounds good boss,”

            The way he said it was dripping with distain and left a bad taste in Nicole’s mouth. They went back to what they were doing, but the playful atmosphere was gone. They easiness was over.

            As they worked they could hear Champ grumble about doing all the heavy lifting on his own. Nicole could feel herself rolling her eyes at him. As the sun began to wane and the breeze began to pick up, they called it a day. They drove back to the house, Nicole looked at Waverly, the tension evident in the way she held her jaw; the muscles near her hairline pulled taut.

            “Do you want to stay for dinner?” Waverly asked.

            Nicole could hear the longing in Waverly’s voice, something that she could feel, that was begging her not to leave. But Nicole was also thinking about how awkward it would be to eat dinner with the two of them.

            “I cant tonight. I’ve still got a stall to muck and to feed my cat,” Nicole said, her words falling flat.

            Waverly could feel her heart sink, “How about tomorrow?”

            Nicole smiled, “Tomorrow,”

            When they got to the house, Nicole grabbed her tools from the back of Waverly’s truck and moved them to her own.

            “I’ll see you in the morning?”

            “Bright and early. Get some rest tonight, you earned it,” Nicole got into her truck. There was a lingering look between them before Nicole drove away.

            Champ wrapped his arms around Waverly, “Something about her rubs me the wrong way,”

            “What? Like that fact that she actually knew what she was talking about with the fence?” Waverly snapped.

            “Oh come on, babe. Don’t be like that,”

            “Like what? Champ, we busted our asses this morning while you slept in well past noon,” Waverly gave him one last glare before heading inside. She heated up the lasagna and poured herself some whiskey. Her shoulders didn’t relax until she heard his truck pull out of the drive.

            Waverly pulled out her cell phone, ignoring the notifications and opened her messages.

            “Thank you so much for helping out today. And I’m sorry about my pain in the ass boyfriend,” Waverly sent to Nicole.

            “I’m more than happy to help out. And I hope this doesn’t come across as rude, but is your boyfriend always so whiny?” Nicole sent back.

            Waverly chuckled into her glass of whiskey, “Not usually. He was just sulking that a girl knew more about farm stuff than him,”

            “Well, I’ve got some work to do, then I’m going to catch some zzzs. I’ll see you bright and early!”

            “I can’t wait!” Waverly sent back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the house is haunted... wonder where that might go? hmmm....  
> As always, if you are a music nerd like me : a playlist of songs that inspired/I listened to while writing this:  
> https://play.spotify.com/user/ecaustin18/playlist/47aoD9vkskxPsXGjSMjzww


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are interested in listening to a playlist of songs that I listened to while writing/ inspired this fic: https://play.spotify.com/user/ecaustin18/playlist/47aoD9vkskxPsXGjSMjzww

For the next 3 days Nicole and Waverly would come out bright and early and work on pulling fence posts. They would joke and it was easy. They made quick work of the fence, and enjoyed it. Nicole noted how satisfied she would feel when her bones were tired, but she was eating a sandwich across from Waverly; it felt worth it for some reason, and she knew it was more than just the satisfaction of helping someone else.

            But then everything would change when Champ would come around every afternoon. Waverly turned cold, and Champ’s whining wore on both of them.

            By the end of the 3rd day the three of them were silently loading up tools, ready to head back to the house when Champ slammed down a shovel on the ground.

            “What is your problem Waverly?” He said aggressively, “Every day, I drive up and I see you two laughing and joking and having a great time, but once I’m here its like a funeral. What’s the joke I’m not allowed in on?”

            Nicole tried to busy herself, but could feel the dread tying knots in her stomach.

            “Oh, I don’t know Champ. Let me think why that is,” Waverly said, throwing scrap pieces of wood into the truck bed with a little more gusto than she probably needed, “Maybe because Nicole doesn’t complain, she makes it enjoyable to do this shit job. Maybe because we are out here every morning at daybreak, busting our asses, and you don’t show up until after noon. You work for 3 hours, bitching and moaning the whole time, while we have been going at it for twice that already that day,”

            “I’m helping, what more do you want from me?” He threw his hands up in the air.

            “I want more than the absolute bare minimum of effort. I want you to actually care about this as much as I do,” Waverly stopped her foot, “This isn’t playing rancher on your daddy’s farm. This is the only thing Wynona and I inherited from our father when he passed. This is real life. I need this fence, because we need to start ranching cows because we need to turn a buck. Waiting tables and what ever the fuck Wynona does aren’t cutting it,”

            Champ had a look of shame on his face. He knew he was being a child about it, but he also hated being wrong, “I have other things I need to do during the day, Waverly,”

            “Sleeping until noon is not ‘other things’. Its willfully avoiding helping us,” Waverly motioned for Nicole to get in the truck and hoped in, starting the engine. Knowing her only other option was hitching a ride with Champ, she scrambled to get into the old Ford before Waverly drove away.

            Once a bit down the path Waverly let out a sigh, “I’m so sorry you had to witness that. I’m totally embarrassed,”

            “Don’t be,” Nicole said, “Sometimes we lose our cool, and that’s ok,”

            Waverly was quiet for a minute, “Want to stay and have a drink?”

            Nicole’s eyes widened slightly at the suggestion, “Ah, yeah sure,”

            They pulled up to the house and Nicole followed Waverly into the house. She watched quietly as Waverly pulled out two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. Waverly poured generous amounts in each glass and slide one across kitchen table to Nicole.

            They heard the rumble of a truck followed by a knock on the screen door.

            “Just ignore it,” Waverly said.

            “Waverly! I know you’re in there!” Champ’s voice called out.

            Waverly sighed, excusing herself with a hand gesture and going to the door. Nicole couldn’t hear what was being said, the conversations carried out in hushed tones, but the end result was Champ quietly leaving.           

            “Again, I’m so sorry about that,” Waverly said. She looked defeated.

            “And again, there’s no need to apologize,” Nicole swirled the amber liquid in her glass.

            Waverly plopped down at the table, “I guess I’m just embarrassed,” Waverly said.

            “I get it, I really do. Do you want to talk about it?”

            “Not really,” Waverly drained her glass and poured another.

            Nicole nodded and sipped the whiskey, “Totally understandable,”            

            “Tell me about your hometown,” Waverly asked.

            “What do you want to know about it? Its just a small town in Indiana,”

            “I don’t know,” Waverly shrugged, “Just like, what it was like growing up there and stuff,”

            Nicole laughed, “Like I said, it’s a small town, only a fraction bigger than this place. The only real difference is that its flat as hell and surrounded by corn and soybeans. I mean my first job when I was thirteen was detasseling corn and walking soybeans, back then I got paid five bucks an hour, which seemed like so much at thirteen. By the summer before I left college, I was making seventeen dollars an hour as a senior team member. Not a half bad gig,”

            “Holy cow,” Waverly whistled.

            “Its pretty common down in the corn belt,” Nicole nodded.

            “My first job was at Shorty’s. I started off as a waitress; once I was old enough I became a bartender. My uncle and aunt own it,”

            “Now, waitressing makes detasseling seem like a walk the park, I can’t even imagine,”

            “Its all in the smile and wave,” Waverly put on a cheese smile that can only be described as a ‘customer service smile’.

           

            By the time they were half way through the bottle of whiskey they had moved on to the living room. They sat on the floor, propped up against front of the couch, their glasses long forgotten and the bottle of whiskey sitting in between them. Nicole’s old cowboy hat was on the coffee table and both of their sets of boots lay strewn haphazardly by the doorway.

            “Senior year, my parents were out of town to go to some distant relative’s wedding and my brother and I were responsible for making sure everything ran smoothly. To this day, I cant believe my parents left a fourteen year old a seventeen year old in charge of an entire farm for three days, but they did,” Nicole paused to take a swig of the Canadian whiskey, “And so naturally, Friday night I went out with some friends. Now, I was a goody two-shoes, so I didn’t drink, but I sure did stay out pretty late. Around three in the morning, I get a text from my brother asking me if I had checked on the cows yet, because apparently he had decided to leave too. In a panic, I raced back home, and drove out into the pasture to check on them. It was pitch black and in my hurry to check on them, I forgot that it had rained that day, and got my truck stuck on the dirt path. So I got out and started walking in the direction I thought the cows were. Well, I walked right into a circle of startled heifers,”

            “Oh no,” Waverly winced.

            “Oh yes. So here I am, surrounded by these scared and angry cows, they are all stomping and there’s these angry sniffing sounds. I almost peed my pants right then and there. I made a break for it back to my truck; I’ve never run so fast in my life. And then, I leaped into the bed of my truck, like an Olympic high jumper or something. I very narrowly avoided getting run over that night,” Nicole nodded.

            “Remember how I told you about trying barrel racing in 4-H?” Waverly asked, taking the bottle form Nicole’s hand and taking a long swig.

            “Yes I do,” Nicole smiled at Waverly. She could tell by the warm fuzzy feeling in her brain that she wasn’t driving home tonight.

            “Well, the reason it went so poorly is because on the first barrel, the horse I was riding, decided he didn’t want to, and just kept going straight and then threw me. I thankfully wasn’t hurt, but I never tried barrels again,”

            “See, he clearly didn’t know how lucky he was to have someone as great as you on board,” Nicole said, “Whiskey threw me the first 4 times I got on her. I thought I was going to have to let her go. I got her already broken, so she knew how to let people ride her. She was 4 years old or so. And her previous owner said she had never had an issue, that this was an even-tempered horse. But the horse I got was… such a bitch. Took awhile, but we finally got a mutual respect for each other, and have been inseparable ever since,”

            Waverly took another swig, “I think we are drunk,”

            “I know we are,” Nicole nodded, “Can I crash here tonight?”

            “Of course,” Waverly rested her hand on Nicole’s thigh. She couldn’t explain the connection she felt with the women next to her.

            Nicole leaned in; there faces were inches apart. She knew she was drunk, and knew this wasn’t the best decision but it felt right. She was even more surprised when Waverly mimicked her action.

            “Waverly! I’m home!” Wynonna’s voice was followed by crashing and the sound of heavy boots on the old hard wood floor.

            Waverly jumped up, suddenly embarrassed by what she was about to do. Nicole scrambled to her feet.

            “I have come to drop off your sister,” A man wearing a hat with a thick mustache said as they both came into view, Wynonna draped over him.

            “Oh, I see you have a friend here, I wont bother you,” Wynonna said loudly.

            Waverly ran over and looped and arm under Wynonna’s shoulder, taking some of the weight off of the man.

            “Thank you so much, I’ll take her up stairs,” Waverly said.

            Waverly guided her sister upstairs and Nicole awkwardly shoved her hands in the back pocket of her jeans.

            The man with the bushy mustache looked in her direction, taking off his hat, “where are my manors, I don’t think I introduced myself. I’m John Holiday, but you can call me Doc,” He offered Nicole a hand.

            She took it, noting the firm shake, “I’m Nicole Haught,”

            “The girl helping with the fence?”

            “Guilty as changed,” Nicole smiled.

            “Well, welcome to Purgatory. I’ve heard around town that you are some team roping prodigy,”

            Nicole could feel herself blush, “I mean, I put in work. I want to be the best at what I do,”

            Waverly came back down the stairs, “She passed out as soon as she hit the pillow,” She hugged Doc, “Thank you for bringing her back,”

            “As always Ms. Waverly,” He smiled curtly, “Well, I best be going, I don’t want to intrude any further on your evening,”

            “Drive home safe,” Waverly said as Doc donned his hat, with a nod he left.

            “Is she ok?” Nicole motioned towards the ceiling.

            “Yeah, she’s good. This isn’t that uncommon of a thing,” Waverly ran her hand through her hair, “Let me go find you some blankets and we can get you set up on the couch,”

            “Thanks again for letting me stay,” Nicole said.

            Waverly held Nicole’s Elbow, “Hey, there’s no question in letting you stay. Come on, let’s find you some blankets,”

            Nicole followed Waverly upstairs to a hall closet. Waverly began rooting around in various linens, until she produced a blanket and two pillows, “I don’t have any pajamas that are going to fit you, but Wynonna might, she wont mind,” Waverly offered.

            “I think I’ll be ok in this, but thank you,” Nicole followed Waverly back down stairs and Waverly made up the couch into a make shift bed.

            “So, is this place really haunted?” Nicole asked tentatively.

            Waverly laughed, “Wynonna sure thinks so. I’m not very superstitious. I guess you’ll have to figure it out for yourself,”            

            Nicole screwed her face up, “Waverly, you might need to work on your hospitality,”

            This earned Nicole another chuckle for the short brunette, “Maybe you’re right,”

            Nicole shifted awkwardly on her feet, the night felt over, but she sure didn’t want it to be.

            Waverly looked down at the rug, “Well, good night Nicole,”

            “Good night Waverly,” Nicole put her hands in her back pockets as she watched Waverly walk half way up the stairs, “And Waverly, thanks again,”

            Waverly stopped and looked over her shoulder at the red head standing in her living room; she couldn’t help but smile, “Good Night,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw: Nicole's cow story is based on something that actually happened to my Dad when he was in college lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry about the unplanned hiatus. First it was finals, then the holidays, then my life just being a shit show. But I didnt forget about y'all! Lets get back in the horse!

            Waverly woke up early; sleep in the new house still came unease. She padded out of her room, a shall wrapped around her to fight off the chill of the morning. As Waverly walked down the stairs she paused to look at the sleeping red head on her couch. Her flannel draped over the back of the couch and a blanket tucked up to her chin.

            Waverly crept down the stairs and quietly into the kitchen. She started the coffee machine and sat at the breakfast bar, contemplating the pounding in her head. Waverly closed her eyes, listening to the coffeemaker gurgling.

            The gurgle of the coffee pot was replaced with soft footsteps. Waverly slowly raised her head.

            “Good morning,” Nicole said quietly.

            Waverly smiled, “Good morning. I didn’t wake you did I?”

            “Oh no, the smell of coffee did,”

            “Want some breakfast?” Waverly asked hopeful.

            Nicole smiled, “I would love to have breakfast with you, but I should get back, get cleaned up, and back here so we can start working on that fence,”

            “Hey Nicole, about last night,” Waverly rested a hand on Nicole’s elbow.

            “No need to explain,” Nicole held up a hand, “What ever is going on with Wynonna is none of my business,” Nicole tugged on her boots, “I’ll see you in an hour,”

            Waverly sighed as she watched Nicole walk out the door. She got up and poured a cup of coffee, dropping in a single sugar cube and a dash of creamer.

            “Oh, you already made coffee? Have I ever told you I love you?” Wynona came around the corner in the same clothes she had been brought home in last night.

            “How are you feeling this morning?” Waverly asked over her cup of coffee.

            Wynonna made a face followed by a muddled grumble, “How did I get home last night?”

            “Doc brought you in,” Waverly passed the creamer over to Wynonna.

            She murmured a thank you and poured a generous amount of creamer into her cup, “Bless Doc. What did you do last night?”

            “Champ and I got into a fight, so Nicole and I tore through a bottle of whiskey,”

            “Sounds about right,” Wynonna lifted her cup, “What did he do this time?”

            “You know, the usual laziness. I honestly would be surprised if he even came back today,”

            “Champ’s quiet the chump,” Wynonna snickered from behind her coffee cup.

            “Wynonna,” Waverly scolded, “I’ve got to go start getting ready; we should have that fence all taken down by the end of the day,”

            “Well, aren’t y’all busy bees,” Wynonna laughed, “Tell Nicole I’m thankful. And we still need to work out her payment,”

            Waverly had all but forgotten that Nicole was getting paid, “Yeah, I’ll ask her today. I’m going to go get a shower,”

           

 

            Nicole and Waverly got a slow start, the night of whiskey having taken its toll.

Nicole stopped, wiping the hangover sweat from her brow. She noticed some dark looking clouds coming their way.            

            “Is it going to rain?” Nicole asked.

            Waverly looked up, “Looks like it will probably get stopped by the mountains. You’ll learn that weather round here always gets screwed up by those mountains,”

            Both of their heads snapped around at the sound of a truck pulling up. The sides were splattered in mud, but it was unmistakably Champ’s truck.

            “Would you imagine that,” Waverly said as she set her drill down.

            Champ parked his truck and hoped out. He pulled on a pair of gloves and started loading fence posts into the back of the truck. Waverly and Nicole stared.            

            “Well, what are you guys staring at? Are we puling fence or are we pulling fence?” He asked.

            Both Nicole and Waverly snapped to attention and started working on the fence again. The three worked in silence but they finished pulling the rest of the fence by the late afternoon. They road back to the house in silence and unloaded the old fence posts.

            “I’ll see you later Babe, I’ve got to go,” He kissed Waverly tenderly and hurried into his truck.

            Waverly looked to Nicole, “Was that weird?”

            “Ah, seemed a little out of character,” Nicole agreed.

            “Would you like to stay for dinner? Wynonna will be home early tonight, you can find out why she thinks the house is haunted,” Waverly tried to entice Nicole to stay.

            Nicole pulled off her warn work gloves and smiled sadly, “Unfortunately I cant. Since I knew we would be done early today I agreed to practice with my roping partner today. He’s got a friend with a nice shoot set up that we can barrow. And then I’m going to run Whiskey through some barrels,”

            Nicole could see the disappointment splash over Waverly’s face, “Oh, yeah. I guess you have to practice to keep that belt of yours,”

            Nicole laughed, “I mean its not like they take it away from you,”

            Waverly just rolled her eyes at the taller girl and leaned back against the bed of the pickup.

            “Tomorrow we should be putting up fence, and from there we only have a couple days to go,”

            “I cannot wait for this to be over, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Speaking of, Wynonna wanted me to ask about your payment for the fence work,”

            Nicole had forgotten she was doing work for Waverly to get paid, “Ah, I don’t know. I mean, I kind of forgot I was doing this for money,”

            “Well, think about it, we want to give you a fair share,”

            “I’ll think about it,” Nicole touched the brim of her hat, “But for now, I’ve got some work to go put in,”

            “Be safe,” Waverly said in parting.

            Nicole gave her a nod before disappearing into her truck. She made the short drive to the other side of town to the ranch her roping partner had given her the address of. When she stepped out of the truck he was waiting for her, leaning against his truck, a dusty old black cowboy hat resting on his head. He was wearing a tight cotton t-shirt, his muscles showing easily through the fabric.

            “Hey Dolls,” Nicole slammed the door of her truck shut.

            “You’re late,” He said in a flat tone.

            Nicole smiled at him, “I told you, I wasn’t sure when I would be here. I’m not sure how I can be late when there was no set time for me to be here,”            

            “Fair enough, I guess,” he nodded. He pushed himself off the side of his truck, “Are you ready? My friend here has a couple roping horses we can borrow,”

            “What do we have to do in return to get to use all this?” She asked, a bit skeptical.

            “He just likes to help out up and coming rodeo kids,” He said.

            “You and I both know that’s not how this works,” Nicole gave him a side eye.

            “Ask him yourself,” Dolls pointed over to a man leaning against the gate to an open-air riding arena. He was wearing a hat and had a mustache that Nicole recognized right away.

            “Miss Haught, it is a pleasure to meet you again,” Doc gave her a swift hand shake, “When Dolls here approached me about using my set up, I just had to help out the young female roping prodigy, and this fine fellow,”

            “It’s nice to meet you again,” Nicole said.

            “I used to be a roper myself. Learned to rope on my daddies ranch, and got so good at it I started to compete. But I was never as good as either of you two,” He led them to the barn, “But, Since I no longer have a use for any of this stuff, I like to open it up to better, younger ropers and let them use it. Other wise everything here is just gonna go to rust,”

            “Thank you so much,” Nicole said.

            “We truly appreciate it,” Dolls said.

            “The horses and the tack are available in here. Rowdy and James are the two best options for you two. My farm hand Fish can help you guys load the steers. I’ve also got a dummy out in the arena you can use to practice. Y’all have free reign of the facilities,”

            “Thank you, Sir. This is of great help to Nicole and I,” Dolls aid.

            “You both a damn good rodeo folk, but I understand your… unique struggles. It is not easy for a women and a black man on the circuit. I am here to help support you,”

            “Sir, please don’t misconstrue this as disrespect, but why take the risk to support us?”

            “Let’s just say I have a soft spot for the underdog,” Doc said, “I’ll be up at the house. Feel free to use what ever you need,”

            Nicole and Dolls looked at each and watched the mysterious man walk out of the barn.

            “Well, didn’t we stumble into some luck?” Nicole whistled.

            “We sure did. I’ve been asking around town about him. No one knows much. I’ll keep digging. But, and keep this between us for now, he has offered us a sponsorship. We wear the _Holiday Farms_ logo, and we get a decent amount of cash. I obviously told him I had to speak to you first, and that we had to get to know each other a bit first,” Dolls said.

            “Yeah, lets get a better feel for him. I like the sound of a sponsorship though,” Nicole tipped her hat back.

            “Lets get some practice in, what do you say?” Dolls flashed a rare, bright smile.

            “Lets,” Nicole returned the smile. They got their ropes out and took some swings on the practice dummy, practicing their lassoing.

            “Well, lets rustle up that ranch hand and get on some steers,” Dolls said.

            They went to the barn and suited up the roping horses that Doc had suggested. They rode them around the arena, getting a feel for them. Then they moved the dummy out into the arena to practice on a stationary object to get a feel for the horses.

            “Ready for the real thing?” A mousy looking guy with a short, dark, beard said as he came into the arena, “I’ve got five or six steers in the holding shoot waiting for you,”

            Dolls rode over to the man, “Thank you very much, Fish is it?”

            The man saluted, “Guilty as charged,”

           

 

            “That was a good session,” Nicole said as she pealed off her roping gloves.

            “And with Doc’s support, we can do this as often as we want. That’s a lit arena too, so we can work after dark,”

            “This is a sweet deal, thank you for finding this Dolls,”

            “Let me know when you are free next. We have that comp coming up in two weeks,” Dolls said.

            “Sure thing Dolls. Have a safe night,” Nicole said before getting into her own truck.

 

 

            Waverly sat quietly across from Champ as they ate dinner. Things had been tense between them since Champ actually started showing up on time to work on the fence. But After Champ had shown up at 9am to work on the fence for the last three days, Waverly couldn’t turn him down when he offered to buy her dinner.

            They were in the one decent restaurant in Purgatory. Champ had even put on a tie. Even so, it didn’t feel right. Waverly pushed her shrimp stir-fry around on her plate.

            “Babe, are you not hungry?” Champ asked.

            “Yeah, yeah, for sure,” Waverly said not so convincingly.

            “Is it something wrong with the food? Cause I can do something about it,”

            “Champ, its fine. I’m just not like super hungry,”

            “Oh, ok,” He sat back in his chair and slurped some pasta.

            Waverly spent the rest of the night picking at the hem of her skirt as she pushed crusted shrimp around her plate.

            Champ gawked a bit at the check and slapped some cash down on the table before retrieving his jacket from the back of his chair.

            They walked out to the car in silence. Waverly felt tense and wasn’t exactly sure why. She climbed up into his truck, trying to avoid getting mud on her clothes.

            Champ pulled up to the Earp ranch, a grin on his face.

            “Thank you for dinner,” Waverly forced a smile.

            He leaned over and planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek, “So, did I earn a trip upstairs?”

            “Champ, we have to get up really early to get that fence finished,” Waverly deflected.

            “We just won’t sleep,” he nuzzled into her neck.

            Waverly felt every muscle in her body stiffen; she pushed Champ away, “No, Champ,”

            “Maybe tomorrow night?” Champ gave her his puppy dog eyes.

            “No,” Waverly sat up in the seat, “No Champ. I’ve got work to do. I’ve got a ranch to get off the ground. I don’t have time for this,” Waverly got out of his truck. A cloud of dust kicked up as she hit the ground.

            Champ scrambled around his truck, “Babe, what do you mean?”

            “Wynonna and I need to get this place running. I don’t have time to play games with you,”

            “And I can help with that. I know how to raise cattle,” Champ pleaded.

            “You are unreliable at best. Champ we are done,” Waverly felt the stiffness leave her body, “Yeah, we are over,”

            She turned on her heals before she could change her mind and marched into the house as Champ was left spluttering next to his truck.


	5. Chapter 5

            Nicole pulled up to the house as the sky glowed with the beginning of sunrise, storm clouds visible in the distance. Waverly was waiting, leaning against the beat up blue ford, two cups of coffee in her hands. Nicole couldn’t suppress the smile that came over her face knowing that that cup of coffee was for her. Despite the chill outside, Nicole could feel warmth inside of her.

            “Good morning, my favorite cowgirl,” Waverly stood up and handed Nicole a cup of coffee.

            “Good morning to you too,” Nicole took the cup of coffee.

            “You said you knew how to put up spit rail with only two people right?” Waverly asked.

            “Yeah, we just need some rope, why?” Nicole asked.

            “I broke up with Champ. So it’s a two women crew today,” Waverly looked down.

            Nicole tried to squash the bit of joy that rose up inside of her, “Oh Waves, I’m so sorry,”

            Waverly felt the corners of her mouth turn up at the new nickname, “It’s ah, its ok, long overdue really. Let’s go work on that fence,”

            “The fence, right, lets go,” Nicole nodded.

           

            They worked quietly, and Nicole couldn’t help but eye the clouds rolling towards the mountain ridge. Waverly caught herself looking up at Nicole, catching Nicole looking at the ridgeline more than once.

            “Like I said, the mountains tend to screw up the weather patterns here,” Waverly leaned against a fence post.

            “That one looks like it might get across,” Nicole said skeptically.

            “I guess we better get moving then,” Waverly said.

            They worked as quickly as possible. But Nicole felt a bit of vindication when the first raindrop slipped down her neck. She pushed her hat down on her head. They worked as the first big raindrops splashed against the packed dirt.

            Soon, a clap of thunder accompanied the raindrops. The rain began to come down hard. The postholes filled in with mud as fast as they could dig it out. Nicole turned the collar of her shirt up to try and defend against cold raindrops.

            “Nicole, I think we need to go inside,” Waverly said.

            Nicole looked at her. She was a sorry sight, rain dripping down her face, “I agree, we won’t be able to keep this up. Lets go,”

            As they drove back the skies opened up. Even on the fastest wiper speed, Waverly couldn’t see farther than a couple feet in front of the hood of the truck. It took them twice as long as usual to get back to the house.

            They were chased into the house by another clap of thunder.

            “It’s really coming down out there, we are done for the day,” Nicole sighed.

            “I guess we should have lunch?” Waverly offered.

            “I would hate to be an inconvenience,” Nicole tried to protest.

            “You are not going out in that, you wont make it half way back home,” Waverly said, “I insist you stay here until it lets up. Now lets get some dry clothes,”

            Nicole followed Waverly up the stairs. Waverly flipped on a light and started rummaging through an old beat up dresser, “Wynonna should have something that will fit you in here,”

            Waverly pulled out a baggy sweatshirt and some pajama pants. She handed them to Nicole, “I’ll be across the hall,”

            Waverly gave her a look over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. Nicole quickly shrugged off the wet cloths and pulled on the sweatpants and the sweatshirt. She used her fingers to comb through the wet tendrils of hair.

            “Ah, Nicole,” Waverly’s voice came from across the hall.

            “Yeah?” she walked out into the hallway. The room across the hall’s door was ajar.

            “I ah, I need a little help,” Waverly said.

            Nicole pushed the door open to find Waverly with her shirt stuck around her head.

            “I’ve got you,” Nicole swiftly pulled the shirt over Waverly’s head.

            “Thank you,” Waverly said once she was free. Both women were suddenly aware of how close they were to each other.

            Nicole ripped her eyes from Waverly’s and found Waverly’s dry shirt draped on the back of a desk chair. She picked it up and handed it to her, “It’s no problem,”

            Nicole walked out of the room, pausing to look back at Waverly one last time, “I’ll be down stairs,”

            Waverly smiled, clutching the shirt to her torso as she watched Nicole walk away. She shook her head and pulled the shirt overhead.

            When she finally mad it downstairs she found Nicole staring out the window at the tree in the front yard whipping in the wind of the storm.

            “It can get bad out here,” Waverly jumped at the sound of thunder, “I haven’t been out here for a bad storm since I was a little kid,”

            “Good thing you aren’t alone,” Nicole turned to her.

            Just then the lights flickered, and with a soft _thunk_ , went out.

            “Fuck,” Waverly said softly.

            “Well isn’t that our luck?” Nicole tried to chuckle it off.

            “What do we do?” Waverly sounded slightly worried.

            “Well, first we need and flashlight and then we should try the breaker box,”

            “Right,” Waverly disappeared into a hall closet, returning with a flashlight, “The breaker box is in the basement,”

            Nicole followed Waverly down the rickety old stairs into the dirt floor basement.

            “Why are all old farm houses equipped with a scary basement?” Nicole asked.

            “I think its over here,” Waverly lead Nicole to the back wall of the damp basement.

            Nicole took the flashlight from Waverly and opened the dusty breaker box. She flipped the main breaker back and forth, nothing.

            “Well, the power is definitely out,” Nicole sighed.

            “I guess we light some candles?” Waverly offered as they headed back upstairs.  

            “Sounds like a plan, its pretty dark in here,”

Waverly left Nicole alone to retrieve some candles. Nicole could hear the wind outside howling and the rattle of the panes of glass in the old windows. She now understood why Wynonna might think this place was haunted.

            Waverly brought in hands full of teal lights, “These are all the candles we have. Its about to look like a cult worshiping in here,” Waverly laughed as she began lighting the small candles.

            Once they were all lit the two women sat down on the couch.

            “Today took a turn,” Nicole stated as she tucked her feet under here.

            “Thank you for being here,” Waverly rested her hand on the redhead’s knee.

            “I mean… you do pay me to be here,” Nicole gave Waverly a wink.

            “I truly am thankful you are here. I don’t just mean for the storm, I mean in my life too,” Waverly gave Nicole’s knee a squeeze.

            “I’m glad I met you too,” Nicole said.

            “I’ve been thinking about the other night, when we were drinking,” Waverly started.

            Nicole cut her off, “I’m sorry about getting nosey about Wynonna. It was out of line,”

            “No that’s not what I-“ Waverly was halted by all the candles going out at once.

            “What was that?” Nicole sat up straight, her voice portraying her nerve.

            Waverly tried her best to remain optimistic, “It’s an old drafty house,”

            Both of their eyes slowly rose to the ceiling and the sound of footsteps directly above them.

            “The house is just settling,”

            “Wave’s,” Nicole said as she stood up, “That did not sound like settling,”

            Waverly didn’t even get a chance to soak up the new nickname. The distinctive footstep sounded again.

            “There is someone in the house,” Nicole whispered. She reached for her sopping wet jeans and pulled out her pocketknife. With a flick and a satisfying click the blade locked into place.

            Waverly snapped to. She pulled the old hunting rifle off the mantle and fished a magazine fro it out of a side table, clicking it into place and racking a round into the chamber.

            “You ever use one of these?”

            Nicole nodded, holstering the knife for the familiar weight of the 22. Waverly grabbed an old sawed off shotgun from the corner by the door and loaded it. Nicole made a mental note to ask her why they were so strapped if they survived this.

            Nicole headed for the stairs, but Waverly stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, “I’ll go first,”

            Nicole tried to protest, but Waverly cut her off, “I’ve got the better gun for this and I know the house, I’m going first,”

            Wordlessly, Nicole followed the brunette up the stairs. Waverly deftly avoided the squeaky floorboards and Nicole was careful to follow her every move. Waverly pushed open the first door on the right, scanning the room, Nicole covered her back. They went through each room in this fashion, reconvening on the landing, confused.

            “What the fuck?” Nicole clicked the rifle’s safety on.

            A loud crash down stairs prompted Nicole to rush down the stairs.

            Nicole sighed as she looked out the window.

            “The barn door is just blowing in the wind,” Nicole said over her shoulder to Waverly.

            “Ahhh, why is the light on in the barn?” Waverly asked.           

            Nicole looked back out the window, “A better question is _how_ is the light on,”

            She slipped on her boots and ran into the pouring rain.            

            She quietly and quickly walked out into the yard. She raised the old hunting riffle, clicking the safety off. Her hands were steady, but her heard was racing. It distinctly reminded her of the first time she went deer hunting with her dad.

            She jumped slightly as the old barn door banged loudly in the wind again.

            She walked up to the barn door, scanning the large, empty open space. Keeping an eye on the room she reached for the light switch, flipping it on and off.

            No change, the lights persisted.

            “Strange…” Nicole felt uneasy. She cautiously entered deeper into the barn, checking the stalls and the tack room on the first floor. She took a deep breath before climbing the stairs up into the hayloft.

            It was dark, no lights up here to be ominously on. The only light in the room emanated from the cracks in the floor. The air was still, stagnant and smelled of moldy hay. Nicole cursed herself for not bringing a flashlight. The room was vast, and save some old rusty farm equipment and loose rotten straw on the floor, the room was empty.

            Just to be sure, Nicole walked the perimeter of the room, taking it slow to watch out for possibly rotten boards despite everything in her body screaming for her to run.

            She jumped at another loud slam down stairs. She hurried towards the stairs and started descending them quickly, her brain pleading her to move faster. Halfway down the steps the lights cut out and Nicole felt a shove from behind.

            She stumbled down the remaining steps, only barely able to keep her balance, a searing pain on her back.

            She swung around, aiming the riffle at who ever pushed her. She was greeted by nothing but oppressive darkness.

            She hurried to the sliver of light coming from the crack in the barn door, closing it behind her before running back into the deluge towards the house.

 

            Waverly saw Nicole come running through the sheets of rain. Her face was pale and she looked unnerved.

            Waverly opened the door before Nicole reached it, ushering her inside, “What happened, are you ok?”

            “We have to leave,” Nicole said, “I don’t know what’s going on here, but we gotta go,”

            “Wait, what happened?” Waverly repeated her question.

            “The barn lights, Waverly, they were on and I couldn’t turn them off. There was on one in there, but someone pushed me down the stairs and shut the lights off, we have to leave,”

            Instinctively Waverly pulled Nicole into a hug. She felt the sticky hotness of blood on Nicole’s back, “Oh my God, Nicole you are bleeding!”

            She spun the taller women around and saw slash marks in the fabric of the soaking wet sweatshirt and the red stain of blood seeping through.

            “We are going to my place,” Nicole said, grabbing her keys and hat. They ran out into the rain hopping into Nicole’s truck. She prayed it would be able to get them home as she threw the truck into four-wheel drive. The whole drive to Nicole’s house was tense; she had an iron grip on the steering wheel.

            Nicole could feel herself relax slightly as her property came into view in the near distance.

            They hurried into the small farmhouse.  
            “Welcome to my house,” Nicole said as she locked the door behind them. It felt weird to say that after what they had both experienced.

            Waverly followed her down a short hallway into the living area. The outside of the house said older farmhouse, but the inside had been recently updated.

            To the left was an eating area, the kitchen in the back corner. To the right was the living room.

            “Let me take a better look at your back,” Waverly said softly.

            Nicole turned around, suddenly aware of how much it actually hurt now that the adrenaline was leaving her system.

            Waverly gently lifted the tattered fabric. Three large, angry scratches covered Nicole’s back, spanning from her right shoulder down to her left hip. If Waverly didn’t know any better she would think a bear had taken a swipe at the girl.

            “You have 3 long scratches on your back,” Waverly let the sweatshirt fall, “Do you have a first aid kit? I can try and get you patched up for now,”

            “Yeah, follow me,” Nicole led her upstairs. They entered the first room on the left, “This is my room,”

            She disappeared into the bathroom, coming back out with a small Rubbermaid tote full of first aid supplies. Waverly jumped when something moved on the bed next to her, she sighed in relief when she realized it was a cat jumping on to the bed.

            “That’s Janey,” Nicole introduced the cat as she searched in her dresser for a replacement for the now destroyed sweatshirt she had on.

            They headed back down stairs. Waverly set up shop on Nicole’s kitchen table, laying out the supplies she would need.

            “One upside to having dated a bull rider is I got pretty good at first aid. Now, step into my office,” She motioned for Nicole to sit down in front of her.

            Nicole straddled the chair, facing the back and away from Waverly. Waverly helped her gingerly remove the wet garment, revealing the full extent of the injuries.

            Waverly inspected the wounds more closely. She wasn’t sure what could have caused it. They were deep and angry. She gently touched the surrounding area, soliciting a hiss from Nicole.

            “Did you fall against anything?”

            “No, I don’t think so, I think whatever pushed me did it,”

            The words hung in the air as Waverly worked to clean and bandage the wounds. Every groan and stifled swear from Nicole made Waverly’s heart feel heavy.            

            Once she was satisfied with her repair job, she helped Nicole slide on the oversized t-shirt she had grabbed.

            “I am so sorry,” Waverly said to her.

            Nicole hugged the shorter women, “there is no need to be sorry,”

            “If you hadn’t been there today, this wouldn’t have happened to you,”

            “You have nothing to be sorry for,” Nicole repeated. She let go of Waverly despite everything in her body begging her to never let go, “If it hadn’t been me than it could have been you. I would rather it be me. Come on, I’ll make tea,”

            Nicole filled a kettle and got it started. They waited, sitting at the kitchen island.

            “So, ah, crazy day at work, am I right?” Waverly gave her a slight nudge.

            “Super crazy, thankfully my boss is kinda cool,”

            “Oh shit, I’ve got to call Wynonna and tell her. I don’t want her going back to that place alone,”

            Waverly called her sister and tried her best to explain what had happened on speaker phone so Nicole could add her commentary while she fixed them each a cup of tea.

            “Well, I’m waiting,” Wynonna’s voice said.

            “Waiting for what?” Nicole asked.

            “For Waverly to admit I was right. That place is haunted, I was right. Admit it,”

            “Is this really the time?”

            “It’s always the time to prove I’m right, baby girl,” Wynonna said jokingly. Her voice turned serious, “Thank you Nicole for helping my sister. We are going to have to find a way to figure out what’s going on on our land,”

            “Well, I don’t think there’s really anything we can do about it tonight,” Nicole said, “But if you want to start figuring out where we even start, be my guest,”

            “Oh, I know where to start. I’ve been looking into this ever since we moved back into that house,” Wynonna said, “You two relax, recoup. I’ll start making some calls,”

            “Love you, Wynonna,” Waverly said.

            “Love you too baby girl,” Wynonna said back, “Sorry Nicole, its too soon in our relationship to say I love you, but thank you,”

            “It was no problem,” Nicole said. Waverly hung up the phone and they headed into the living room with their tea. Waverly curled up into the oversized armchair and Nicole stretched her legs out on the couch. Both women were feeling the effects of the adrenaline crash. Nicole took some ibuprofen to help with her back.

            Waverly was grasping for anything to talk about other than the events of the day, anything to fill the silence so she didn’t have to listen to the storm outside anymore.

            “When do you compete next?” Waverly asked.

            “Dolls and I are going to be in that invitational next week here in town, then we are going to somewhere in Montana for a rodeo in a couple weeks,” Nicole sipped her tea, “We ah, we got a sponsor,”

            Waverly sat up a bit, interested, “Who?”

            “Your friend, Doc. He is letting us use his set up, his roping horses, all just for wearing shirts with his farms logo on it. It still sounds, and feels, fishy to me. How well do you guys know him?”

            “I mean, he was the new guy in town, but now that’s you. His family has owned that farm for generations, but he lived somewhere else, never around here. He came back recently, taking it over from his cousin on circumstances that were very unclear. But he’s been nothing but nice to us. Wynonna took to him like a fish to water. She doesn’t think I know, but they have been sleeping together for a bit now. She thinks she’s sneaky,”

            “Do you think we should trust him?” Nicole asked.

            “I think, so far, he hasn’t given me a reason to not trust him,”

            Nicole decided to accept that answer for now, “I guess we will have to see,”

           

            Eventually the events of the day began to catch up with them, exhaustion setting in. Waverly was nodding off in the chair, her now empty mug dangling dangerously from her hand. Nicole stood up, collecting the mug from Waverly’s hand, and going to set them in the sink.

            “Sorry, I almost fell asleep on you there,” Waverly stood up, stretching.

            “It’s still early, but I was thinking we might hit they hay,” Nicole suggested, “I don’t currently have a bed in the spare room, its really just used as storage. So you can either sleep in my room and I sleep down here, or we can share my bed,”

            “I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch in your own house,” Waverly said as though it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard, “And I’m not sure I could sleep alone tonight if I wanted to,”

            Nicole nodded, wordlessly sharing her sentiment, “Alright, if you want to share, we can share. Lets get ready for bed,”

            Nicole led her back upstairs. She searched through the small closet in the master bathroom for a spare toothbrush.

            “Here you go,” Nicole handed Waverly the brand new toothbrush. They brushed their teeth side by side, it felt incredibly domestic, almost too intimate for their level of friendship.

            “Do you need a change of clothes or are you good with what you have on?” Nicole asked.

            “I’m fine in this,” Waverly shoved her hands in the pajama pants she had on.

            Nicole turned down the comforter, “Are you sure you don’t mind sharing a bed?” Nicole asked.

            “I think it will be nice to know I’m not alone if I’m being completely honest,”

            “Ok, I just, I want you to be comfortable,” Nicole wrung her hands nervously. The prospect of Waverly sleeping next to her was almost scarier than everything they has experienced that day.

            “Nicole, I get it, you’re gay, not a werewolf. I’m not afraid of sharing bed with you,” Waverly kissed her cheek, “Now, do you have a side?”

            “Ah what?”

            “A side, of the bed. Do you like to sleep on one side or the other?” Waverly smiled at how flustered Nicole looked.

            “Oh, right. I don’t, you can pick,”

            Waverly crawled into the bed getting under the coves. Nicole sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching for the retainer case on the side of the bed, then opting to not put it in, remembering how much she didn’t like how it made her sleep with her mouth open. She switched off the bedside light before swinging her legs up onto the bed and getting under the covers. Nicole kept her distance, but she couldn’t resist turning to face Waverly.

            Both of their breathing slowed, coming into sync, but neither of them found sleep. Waverly was lying on her back, a bit more stiff than one might expect from someone sleeping.

            Waverly was trying to will herself to sleep, but as hard as she tried, she couldn’t shake the images of Nicole sprinting in the rain, or the feeling that had run down here spine at the sound of footsteps.

            “Nicole, are you still awake?” She whispered.

            Nicole opened her eyes, looking at the shadow of the women next to her in the moonlight filtering through the window.

            It took her a beat to answer, “yeah,”

            “I can’t sleep,” Waverly turned to look at Nicole. Her voice was small, almost like a child.

            “What can I do to help?” Nicole asked softly.

            Waverly was quiet for a second. She took a deep breath before gently taking Nicole’s hand in hers. She rolled over onto her side facing away from Nicole, guiding her arm around her.

            “Is this ok?” Waverly asked, the waver in her voice giving away that she was unsure of herself.

            “Ye-yah,” Nicole stammered. She scooted a bit closer to Waverly. A million thoughts raced through her mind and once. She prayed that Waverly couldn’t feel how fast her heart was beating.

            _She’s straight; don’t let yourself fall for her._ Nicole repeated to herself.

            “Thank you,” Waverly’s voice came out as a barely audible whisper, “What you did today, it was brave,”

            “Running into a storm to chase an unknown intruder, or a ghost or whatever is hardly brave. More stupidity, really,” Nicole said.

            Waverly let out a half laugh that was more a huff than a laugh, “Fine, thank you for being stupid today. It made me feel a lot better,”

            “Can I ask you a question?” Nicole squeezed Waverly’s hand slightly.

            “Of course,” Waverly said, voice low.

            “Why do you guys have so many guns and so much ammo…. Just laying around in your house?”

            “The simple answer is that we have a coyote problem,” Waverly said.

            “What is the not-simple answer?”

            “A story for a different time,” Waverly said.

            Nicole pulled her in a fraction of an inch closer, “ok,”

            “I think I’m going to try to sleep now,” Waverly said.

            “Goodnight Waves,”

            “Goodnight,” Waverly said in a sleepy voice.

            It didn’t take to long for Waverly to fall asleep. Nicole smiled at the soft sound of her snore. It was small and dainty just like her.

            Against all the odds, Nicole soon fell asleep as well, content with the smaller women in her arms.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> extra long chapter to make up for not updating in like 6 months is extra long


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated and expanded playlist for the fic if you are interested and like stuff like this   
> https://open.spotify.com/user/ecaustin18/playlist/47aoD9vkskxPsXGjSMjzww

In Nicole’s world it wasn’t common to be woken up by the sunlight, usually she was up and working long before the sun was up. But last night was not normal for Nicole’s world, and neither was this morning. Nicole woke up to the warm rays of sun coming in through her window.

            She slowly opened her eyes, she remembered falling asleep with Waverly in her arms, but she was surprised to wake up laying on her back with Waverly’s head resting on her chest. She listened to the soft snore still coming from the brunette.

            She rested her hand on Waverly’s back. It wasn’t too often that she had a pretty woman in her bed these days; she tried her best to soak it in. She tried to focus on the moment rather than the memories of yesterday and what had happened in the barn, or the fact that Waverly was going to have to go back there. Not many things scared Nicole. She had seen her fair share of scary and gross and real life horror. But whatever had happened at the Earp Homestead had shaken her to her core.

            Waverly was aware of how comfortable she was. She resisted the sunlight on her eyelids, wanting to sleep for forever. She stretched out a bit and cuddled in more to the women under her.

            _To the women under her._ Waverly’s eyes fluttered open, sure enough she found herself lying on Nicole’s chest. She blushed deeply, unsure why she was so embarrassed. She hopped that Nicole wasn’t awake yet.

            “Well, good morning,” Nicole gently moved her arm so she was no longer holding Waverly.

            “How long have you been awake?” Waverly sat up a bit, propping herself on her elbow.

            “Not long, but I didn’t want to wake you up,”

            “Thank you for indulging me last night, sorry I’m a bit of a koala,” Waverly adverted her eyes.

            “No problem, I was happy to help anyway I could,” Nicole smiled, “Want some breakfast?”

            “Yeah, I would like that,”

            The two got out of bed. An antsy Janey greeted them downstairs; she was pacing back and forth near her food dish and meowing. Nicole poured a scoop of cat food into the bowl before getting the coffee maker started.

            “Eggs and bacon good with you?” Nicole asked.

            “That sounds delicious,” Waverly smiled cheerfully at the kitchen island.

            Nicole couldn’t help the smile on her face as she bustled around the kitchen fixing their coffee, and cooking. It had been quite sometime since she got to cook for someone else. It made her feel needed.

            They sat side-by-side eating breakfast and sipping coffee. Comfortable silence. Waverly liked that Nicole wasn’t the type of person who had to fill every moment with the sound of her voice. She was the type of person who was happy to sit in silence with someone, and it wasn’t awkward. Champ had never shut up; it was almost as though he was afraid of the quiet.

            “I was thinking that I could help you around here today, since you surly have chores that you missed yesterday because of me,” Waverly said.

            “I’m all for that idea, I don’t know how effective I’ll be with my back feeling the way it does,” Nicole mentioned it briefly, but Waverly could see in Nicole’s face that her back was hurting more than she let on.

            They dress, Waverly borrowed basketball shorts and a t-shirt, both too long for her. Every time Nicole looked at her she had to stifle a laugh. They bustled around the property trying to get everything done. They turned Whiskey out to pasture and cleaned her stall. Waverly sat on the fence of the make shift arena that Nicole had made and watched her work with the horse, Always building from the basics and then running barrels.

            Waverly admired the relationship between the girl and the horse. When Nicole was on the horse’s back, Waverly almost couldn’t tell where the horse ended and Nicole started; in awe of the way the horse responded to the slight squeeze of Nicole’s knees and the click of her tongue.

            Afterwards Waverly helped Nicole hose down the mare, brush, and pick her hooves. Waverly lightly touched the almost healed cut on the horse’s leg.

            “She got that right before I met you, piece of broken metal in the horse trailer,” Nicole said.

            They finished up the tasks at hand, the sun now high in the sky. They headed inside and hate a small lunch.

            Waverly’s phone began to ring, and she answered it quickly when she saw that it was Wynonna.

            “Hey, so I got someone coming to the house in like an hour to check out our ghost situation. Nicole is welcome to come too, I really want the Blacksmith to see her back,”

            “I’m sorry, the who?” Waverly looked at Nicole with a bit of an exasperated look on her face.

            “The Blacksmith. She is some kind of Native American spiritualist…. And also a blacksmith,” Wynonna said as though it was obvious.

            “Oh, right… obviously,”

            “And she agreed to come check it out, so bring Nicole, and come over,”

            “Wait, how long have you been at the house alone?” Waverly asked.

            “An hour or so. I had to make sure this ghost hadn’t made off with the good whiskey,”

            The conversation ended and Waverly passed along the information to Nicole            “Yeah, I’m happy to help anyway I can,” Nicole agreed to return to the homestead.

            They made their way out to the ranch and saw Wynonna talking to a slender woman, of dark hair and a light brown complexion in the front yard. Waverly hopped out of the chevy and waited for Nicole to exit the vehicle before walking towards the two talking women.

            “Waverly, Nicole, this is the Blacksmith,” Wynonna introduced them, “Nicole is the one who was attacked in the barn,”

            The women shook their hands and looked at Nicole up and down, “May I see the wounds?”

            Nicole lifted her shirt and Waverly gently removed the bandages she had fashioned over them. They had stopped bleeding, but weeping slightly. The Blacksmith gently touched them, and mimicked over them in the air a scratching motion with three fingers.

            “This is actually really common. Malevolent spirits or presences often us threes to mock the Holy Trinity of Christian religions,” She stepped away, allowing Nicole to re-cover the wounds, “Whatever is happening here, it doesn’t want you guys here. You said this land has been in your families hands for a couple generations?”

            Waverly stepped in, “Yes, all the way back to Wyatt Earp days. But we haven’t lived here in the last 20 years. It has been all but empty. Our uncle Curtis used to come out and check the property and make sure no one was squatting out here and to kick the kids off the land who wanted to use it to party,”

            The Blacksmith thought about it and then asked for a tour of the house, barn and land. They watched her move around the house, which was now quiet and the electricity was working. Nicole was curious when she saw the Blacksmith linger in the room at the end of the hall, and the way it made the two sisters shift from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

            Once the Blacksmith had finished with the old house and barn she asked to be taken around the property.

            Wynonna chuckled, “This is a cattle ranch, we can’t just go and do a quick lap. We have almost 2,000 acres, some of it hasn’t see people in decades,”

            The Blacksmith nodded, “Ok, I’ll just go visit with the land surrounding the home,” She abruptly began walking into the field behind the house, soon disappearing over a slight ridge.

            “Are you sure she knows what she’s doing?” Nicole asked. She wasn’t actually sure what the qualifications were for being a ghost hunter or whatever, but she was skeptical at best.

            Wynonna shrugged, “I mean she came highly recommended,”

            “I’m not even going to ask where you got such a recommendation,” Waverly said, “But spirituals have been around for as long has humans have existed, so who knows,”

            After about 30 minutes the women came walking back over the ridge and towards them, “I think I have feel for this place,” She said, “Lets go inside and sit down,”

            They all sat round the old oak dinning table. Waverly got everyone a drink; lemonade for Nicole, water for herself and the Blacksmith, and two fingers of whiskey for Wynonna.

            “A great tragedy happened here before you guys left, did it not?”

            The two sisters nodded.

            “That tragedy has to do with what had been happening here in the house. The footsteps and the noises and the other happenings can all be related to it. There are souls trapped here that don’t know they are dead. That I can help you with,”

            Waverly and Wynonna looked at each other, “And the part you can’t help us with?” Wynonna asked.

            “I felt the oppressive presence that Nicole ran into the barn. It had nothing to do with your family or what happened here. It is an opportunistic spirit, and it doesn’t just want to be here, but to be human again. It doesn’t seem strong enough yet to actually possess or seriously harm anyone, but as Nicole found out, it can inflict damage,”

            “And how did it get here?” Waverly asked.

            “Somewhere on the land, someone opened a portal. You have to find the portal, and you have to close it. But I cannot do that for you. I can direct you on how when you find it, but it is your land, you have to close it yourself,”

            “How do you think something like this opened?” Nicole asked.

            “Waverly, you said kids used to sneak onto the land and party?” the Blacksmith asked.

            “Yeah, it was a constant battle to get them to stay off the land,”

            “Did your uncle ever come across any dead animals? Or satanic symbols? Anything that may suggest witchcraft or devil worshiping?”

            Waverly and Wynonna both looked at each other with questioning looks.

            “I don’t think so, if he did he never mentioned it,” Wynonna said, sipping the whiskey in her glass, “If he did, he would have never told us. He was the kind to try and protect, to try and shelter,”

            “Is there anyway you can ask him?” The Blacksmith asked.

            “No, he passed away a couple months ago,” Wynonna said.

            “Well, you guys will have to comb the property for any signs. And find the portal. As far as the house, I can come back tomorrow and get that taken care of,” She stood, “I will go prepare. Try and stay positive, and if I were you guys I would avoid the barn for now,”

           

           

            Waverly and Nicole had spent a good portion on the rest of the day driving Waverly’s jeep around the eastern corner of the ranch. They had discovered old storage sheds and buildings that even Waverly had never seen before. It was going to take awhile to cover the whole property. The sun was beginning to set, and they had parked the jeep up on the ridge of one of the many rolling hills. Sitting on the open tailgate they watched the sun begin to set.

            Nicole spoke in soft tones, “Can I ask a question?”

            “Yeah, shoot,” Waverly said leaning back on her hands behind her.

            “The tragedy that the Blacksmith was talking about, does that have to do with the story for another time you mentioned last night?”

            Waverly didn’t answer right away, and Nicole feared that she might have gone too far, “You don’t have to answer that, I’m sorry,”

            “No, I want to tell you. It’s just not easy,” Waverly gave her a small smile, “But if we are going to be friends, you will find out sooner or later,”

            Nicole nodded and waited quietly for Waverly to speak.

            “It wasn’t easy growing up with who our daddy was. He was well known back then, he controlled a lot of the livestock used in the rodeos. I was only 6 when he died and our oldest sister, Willa, died. Our mom left when I was 4, I don’t even remember her. Daddy started drinking and it became difficult for him to keep the ranch hands around because he was pretty verbally abusive to them. The farm was failing. Daddy turned to planting wheat. Without any help Wynonna and Willa had to help. They were all out in the fields and I was home, playing with my imaginary friend. There wasn’t much a baby could really do to help out there. I remember Wynonna come running in the house, screaming that something had happened. Something about the tractor. The police came, an ambulance. But both Daddy and Willa were gone. It’s unclear why, but the tractor overturned. Wynonna had barely missed getting trapped under it too. After that Wynonna and I went to live with our aunt and uncle, Gus and Curtis,”

            Nicole took Waverly’s hand in hers, giving it a squeeze, “Waverly, I am so sorry,”

            Waverly wiped a tear away from her eye with her free hand, reciprocating the hand squeeze, thankful for the contact.

            “Rumors spread around town that Wynonna had actually killed them. She was troubled, but not a murderer. She was in and out of institutions most of our youth. When she turned 18 she was gone, we only saw her and only heard from her occasionally. But the rumors kept on and our land and property was subject to break-ins, vandals and theft, hence the guns. But we also, really do have a coyote problem,” Waverly gave a small chuckle at the end.

            “I’m sorry Waverly, that must have been hard,”

            “When Curtis died, it was like losing a dad all over again,” Waverly said, “But we survived. Earp’s have always been survivors,”

            Nicole gave her hand another squeeze. They sat in silence as the glowing orb of the sun dipped below the horizon, leaving soft reds and oranges in the quickly darkening sky.

            Eventually Waverly drove them back to the house, the high beams of the jeep cutting through the dark as they navigated the pastureland. Once back in the driveway they sat almost awkwardly trying to figure out where to go from there.

            “Are you going to be ok here tonight?” Nicole asked.

            “I’ve got Wynonna. I think we will be ok,”

            “If you need anything, just call,” Nicole offered.

            Waverly smiled shyly, “I will,”

           

 

            Nicole waited out by the barn for the familiar crunch of tires on her gravel drive. She popped out, greeting the green pickup truck.

            “Good morning,” Dr. Nedley said as he hopped out of the truck. He reached back inside, grabbing his clipboard and his stethoscope.

            “Morning,” Nicole said as she slid the barn door open to grant them both better access.

            “So, we are doing a heath certificate today, correct?” Dr. Nedley grunted.

            “Correct, do you want her in the cross ties?”

            “That would be perfect,” he said writing on his clipboard.

            Nicole brought the horse out and tied her in the crossties. The vet started the exam by listening to the bay’s heart and lungs.

            “Have you found any work around here yet?” He asked.

            “I have been helping out at the Earp ranch, but that’s temporary,” Nicole said.

            “Well, if you need something steady, and something that will actually pay, I had a vet tech quit on me unexpectedly. The spot is yours. It’s a really flexible position, which I know is important for your rodeoing,” He said.

            Nicole didn’t really have to think about it, “Yeah, I would love to. But I’m not a trained vet tech,”

            “Yeah, well, we will work around that,” He said, “Mostly you would maybe help hold the occasional horse and help with paperwork and making sure things get sent to the lab and stuff, legally that’s all you would be doing anyways,”

            “I think I would really like that,” She smiled.

            “Well, if you aren’t too busy with the Earp’s this week, swing by the clinic and get you started on the paperwork and stuff,”

            “You don’t want to see a resume or anything?”

            He shrugged, “You seem like a good kid, and I need someone I know knows horses. Also you are pretty much my last shot at finding someone to help around the clinic,”

            Nicole laughed, “Well I guess I would rather be picked last than not at all,”

            He finished the exam, promising to have the required paperwork completed by the start of the next week for her. Before leaving he shook her hand, “Im glad to have you aboard, swing by and I can give you a tour of the clinic,”

            “Thanks sir, I can be by on Monday,” Nicole smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

Waverly and Wynona waited impatiently for the Blacksmith to pull up their drive. The two women went outside to meet the Blacksmith before she even stepped out of her car. Waverly was ready for this to be over.

            “Good morning, ladies,” The women said as she got out of her car. She reached into the back and grabbed a bag.

            “Good morning,” Wynonna said, Waverly hung back slightly.

            “Did you guys collect the things I asked you to?” The Blacksmith asked.

            “Yeah, they are on the kitchen table,” Wynonna jerked her thumb at the house.

            “I warn you guys,” The Blacksmith’s face was somber, “This process can be difficult, emotionally. I need both of you to have good energy,”

            Wynonna laughed dryly, “You clearly have never met an Earp,”

            They walked inside and Waverly pointed to the kitchen table, “there are the things,”

            The Blacksmith had asked them to provide her with an item that had belonged to their father and to their sister. On the kitchen table sat an old Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolver. The handle had gold inlays and was in pristine condition. It had been their dad’s prize possession, having belonged to their great-great granddaddy. The gun was worth more than enough for them to live comfortably off of selling it, but their dad had never dreamed of selling it, and neither could they. Next to it was Willa’s old journal, only half filled, as Willa never had the opportunity to finish all the pages.

            The Blacksmith set her bag on the table. She wordlessly pulled out her supplies. She lit some candles and motioned the women to sit at the table with them.

            “Lets get this over with,” Wynonna muttered.

 

 

            Waverly and Nicole rode out in Waverly’s jeep to continue the process of surveying the ranch for potential satanic portals. Despite the serious situation, Nicole found herself having moments where she got lost in the sunshine, in Waverly driving over the rough pasture, holding on tight to the roll bar with one hand and the other holding her hat down on her head.

            They rode along, finding some old out buildings that Waverly had never seen before, and an old oak tree. Around the oak tree, they found evidence of an old bonfire. As the sun started going down Waverly pulled the jeep up onto one of the many rolling hills on the property. The two women sat on the open tailgate and watched the sun set. Nicole was hoping this was becoming a habit of theirs.

            “Well. Only like 1,900 acres left to search,” Waverly sighed.

            Nicole reached out and touched Waverly’s knee, “Hey, we will find it, and end what ever is going on here,” She pulled her hand away.

            “I sure hope so. This is just so not what we needed right now. We should be getting this place up and ready to go, but instead we are stuck chasing the devil” Frustration was evident on Waverly’s face, in a split second it faded away, turning more neutral, “I’ve been selfish lately. How’s everything. How are you settling into Purgatory? How is your back?”

            Nicole smiled softly, “It’s been good, other than getting attacked by some kind of demon. I’ve got some good news though,”

            “Oh yeah? Do tell!”

            “Dr. Nedley offered me a job working for him. It would mostly be office work but it pays,” Nicole smiled.

            “Oh em gee Nicole! That’s awesome! I’m really excited for you!” Waverly grabbed Nicole’s arm and bounced up and down excitedly.

            “Thank you, I’m excited too,”

            “Nedley is secretly a huge fan of the rodeo too so you know he is going to be super chill with what ever you need for your schedule,” Nicole added.

            “Speaking of, the rodeo is Friday. I totally understand if you don’t want to go, but I would like if you were there,” Nicole said.           

            “Oh I’m not letting some stupid rodeo man ruin my fun time. Im going to come out and support my friend! I’d love to watch a bad ass rodeo lady kick ass!” Waverly said emphatically.

            Nicole smiled softly. She could have sworn Waverly had glanced down at her lips, leaning in slightly.

            Waverly suddenly looked down at her watch, “Shit, I’m going to be late,”             Nicole furrowed her brow in confusion, “late for what?”

            “Oh I started back up tending bar at my aunt and uncles saloon. I had taken two weeks off but since the ranch isn’t getting off its feet anytime soon…”

            “Oh, well we better get you back to the homestead and on your way,” Nicole hopped down from the tailgate and waited for Waverly to follow suit before closing it behind them. Waverly drove them back to the homestead, the headlights barely cutting through the dark.

            Once back at the house Waverly hugged Nicole goodbye before running inside to get changed for work.

            Nicole drove home, not exactly sure why she felt a pit in her stomach. Once home she checked on Whiskey, bringing her in for the night.

            “Hey girl,” Nicole said petting the bay, “How was your day?”

            The horse nickered lightly in response, “I wish I had a horse translator,”

            She turned around and went inside, stopping to feed Janey. She grabbed a beer and walked out onto the wrap around porch of her old farmhouse. She leaned against the railing, taking a swig from the beer, looking out at how the wind made the tall grass bend to its will in the dusk.

            She wasn’t sure why that hug made her feel… full and empty at the same time.

            She shook her head.

            She smiled a bit at the thought of Waverly tending bar, it was an easy and natural to imagine. She was easily the sweetest person in this town and was no doubt a favorite of the patrons of the bar.

            Nicole also felt slightly impressed by the young women. She was 21 and all but ran a saloon, and was now trying to get a cattle range off the ground with the help of her older sister.

            “Waverly Earp, you are something else,” Nicole said to the grass blowing in the field.


	8. Chapter 8

Wynonna hated the rodeo, but she would be damned if she let her baby sister sit by herself at the first rodeo in town since braking up with Champ. Regardless of the intentions, she was uncomfortable; while her biker chick aesthetic wasn’t too off the mark for the crowd, she still stuck out like a sore thumb.

            “Thank you for coming with me,” Waverly said, “It means a lot,” She was actively trying not to notice Champ on the other side of the arena, a gaggle of girls fawning over him.

            Wynonna followed her eyes and had to keep herself from vomiting, “I don’t get it, he’s not even that good of a bull rider,”

            Waverly could feel herself get defensive for him, if anything out of reflex, “He used to be good. Up until he got hurt last year,”

            Wynonna rolled her eyes, “When is our girl competing?” She asked slapping Waverly’s knee.

            “We don’t own Nicole,” Waverly shot her a look, “We hardly even pay her. But Team roping is up next,”

            Wynonna sat back in the bleachers, relatively uninterested, “Well, I’m excited to see her and that man of hers. Doc has been talking them up,”

            “Her and Dolls aren’t dating,” Waverly said a bit more defensively than she had intended.

            “Oh, really? I just figured because if she’s not at our place she’s with him,” Wynonna said, “So you mean that tight ass is single?”

            Wynonna pointed at the duo standing by their horses getting ready to mount off to the side.

            Waverly nodded. _Yeah she is_ , she thought before realizing that Wynonna had meant Dolls.

            “I mean to my knowledge Nicole is, but I don’t really know Dolls. She doesn’t really talk about him much,” Waverly said.

            “I doubt either of them will be single long. Nicole is pretty and sweet and the new young thang in town. And Dolls wont be single for long with me around,” Wynonna rubbed her hands together.

            “What about Doc?” Waverly raised an eyebrow.

            Wynonna suddenly had a look on her face that said she had been caught, “What about him?”

            “Aren’t you two… involved?” Waverly wiggled her eyebrows.

            Wynonna tried to play it off and scoffed, “Sex doesn’t mean we are in love or anything,”

            “Ok Wynonna, ok,” Waverly waved her sister off.           

            “I know you and Chump just broke up, but when are you going to get back on the horse?” Wynonna asked.

            “On the horse?” Waverly looked at her incredulously.

            “The best way to cure a broken heart is to get laid, its scientifically proven,”

            “I would like to see that research,” Waverly chuckled, “I don’t know. Maybe I just need to be single for a bit,”

            “Well don’t wait around too long, Nicole is going to snatch up the last few available guys worth dating in town before too long,”

            Waverly laughed, “Oh, I doubt that,”

            Before Wynonna could follow up with that the announcer called for the crowds attention as the next two ropers got positioned into the shoots.

            Nicole was on the back of a chestnut gelding, one hand on the saddle horn and one with rope in hand. The shoot attendant pulled the timing rope across the box in front of Nicole. Dolls backed his horse into the box on the opposite side of Nicole. They both were wearing crisp looking black pearl snap shirts with “Holiday Farms” written across the back in bold white lettering.

            He nodded his head, and like a flash the shoot opened. Dolls horse sprinted after the steer, and Dolls quickly looped the horns of the steer, his horse pulling to the side to turn the steer.

            Just as the steer starts to veer left, Nicole threw her rope and caught one of the steers legs, her horse pulling back to stretch the steer out as Nicole wrapped the rope around the saddle horn.

            “Damn it,” Waverly cursed.

            “What? They caught the thing, what went wrong?”

            “They had a really good time, but because Nicole missed one of the feet on the steer, they get a 5 second penalty, now they aren’t exactly a lock for the short round,” Waverly explained.

            Ultimately the pair’s time qualified them for the short round in 4th place.

            They both backed up into the box one last time for the night. Dolls nodded, and shot out after the steer. He looped the head, only getting one horn, but it was enough to get the steer turned. Nicole deftly looped the heels and the roping horse dug in and pulled the steer taught.

            Nicole and Dolls grinned at each other. Nicole’s horse walked forward to give the steer slack and Dolls jumped down to untie it.

            “Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Purgatory Invitational Team Roping Champs, Nicole Haught and Xavier Dolls,”

            Waverly jumped up and down, dragging Wynonna to a standing position too. Waverly let out some whoops.

            Nicole looked into the crowd, spotting the small brunette jumping up and down excitedly with a smiling, but uncomfortable looking, Wynonna next to her. Nicole smiled and waved up at her crew.

            “Good job, Nicole,” Dolls slapped her on the back as they remounted their horses and did a quick round through the arena before exciting.

            “Well shit, Waverly, Nicole is super good,” Wynonna was grinning ear to ear. She would never admit that she had enjoyed herself watching them.

            “Wait till you see her barrel race,” Waverly let out a whistle.

            Waverly bounded down the bleachers, weaving through the crowd. She made her way back and found Nicole.

            Waverly ran up to Nicole and wrapped her in a hug with such force that it knocked Nicole’s hat back, “You did amazing!”

            Nicole smiled as she reciprocated the hug, “Thank you,”

            Waverly let her go and Nicole readjusted her hat.

            Wynonna came up slower behind them, shaking Nicole’s hand, “Nice work out there lady,”

            “Thank you, Wynonna,” The pair followed Nicole as she went to get Whiskey saddled up.           

            “So, Dolls, is he…. on the market?” Wynonna asked leaning up against a post.

            Nicole laughed, “Yeah, at least I think so,” Nicole synched a strap on the saddle.            

            “You don’t know?” Waverly asked.

            “We are partners, no best friends. We don’t really talk about that kind of stuff,”

            “Well, maybe you can introduce us sometime,” Wynonna winked at the redhead.

            “I can certainly try,” Nicole nodded as she double-checked her chaps were synched and her hat on tight.

            “Alright, we will leave you to get ready,” Waverly, gave her a quick hug before ushering Wynonna away.

            They got beers and a bag of peanuts to share before returning to their seat.

            Champ had doubled down on his events, and Waverly begrudgingly watched his attempt at bulldogging. Waverly chuckled at the sight of him on a horse, he had never been a good horsemen. But at one time he had been a semi decent bulldogger. He had originally quiet bulldogging because the other cowboys called him daddy’s boy and called him out on not doing a whole lot of farm work of his own.

            He rode out after the steer, the guide horse staying close. Champ slid off the horse and hooked his arms around the horns and tried to twist it to the ground. He dug in with his legs but couldn’t get the steer to fall.

            “Aw that’s too bad. Ladies and gentlemen, give ole Champ a round of applause,” The announce called out as the steer trotted away. Champ was now sitting on his rear, and he slammed his hat into the dirt.

            “You know, that isn’t a good look on a grown man,” Wynonna said softly to Waverly.

            “No it is not,” Waverly crossed her arms.

            They sat through the rest of the bulldoggers until the consolation round where Champ got a second chance to maybe make some money.

            This time as Champ tried to slide out of the saddle he missed the horns, grabbing the steer’s neck while simultaneously getting his foot stuck in the stirrup on the opposite side of the saddle. He let go of the steer as the horse veered off, his foot still stuck.

            He grabbed his leg, trying to pry his foot free, bouncing along the side of the horse. One of the cowboys running safety detail grabbed the horse to slow it down while another rode up and swiftly cut Champs foot free. Champ tumbled to the ground, rolling in the dirt.

            Waverly could feel her heart in her throat. She might not care for Champ like she used to, but she couldn’t stand the thought of him getting hurt. He stood up, hobbled over to his friend who helped him out of the arena.

            “Even I don’t think he deserved that, the injury and the embarrassment,” Wynonna let out a low whistle.

            “I hope he’s ok,” Waverly could feel the worry in her stomach.

            “He’s a tough kid,” Wynonna patted Waverly’s leg. She could see the worry on Waverly’s face and understood it.

            They sat through the rest of the bulldoggers. Wynonna cringing at how brutal steer wrestling was. Waverly shifted side to side in her seat, both anxious for the barrel racing to start.

            Waverly quickly typed out a text to Chrissy to ask her if she knew if Champ was ok. She knew Chrissy was one of her few friends who would understand and wouldn’t make any snide remarks.

            Chrissy’s reply was short, but gave Waverly a sense of relief, “Doctor on call said he should be fine. His knee is bothering him a bit but not enough to keep him from riding. I think his pride is hurt more than anything,”

            Waverly shot Chrissy a thank you and tucked her phone in her pocket.

 

            Nicole swung herself up into the saddle, patting Whiskey lovingly on the neck.

            “You ready, girl?” Nicole asked her. Nicole knew the answer. They had already warmed up and Whiskey felt good, like a well-oiled machine, but a machine with a mind of its own. Nicole steered the bay to the holding shoot. She had two barrel racers in front of her. The proximity to the arena made Whiskey antsy. As always Nicole had to fight a little with the mare to stay calm, to not burn herself out before they even got out the gait.

            Soon they were next. Nicole held the horse back, Whiskey taking pleading steps forward, as Nicole waited for the signal to go.

            She let the horse go, and they were off. Nicole guided the horse around the first barrel, making a tight full circle around the barrel, Whiskey bursting out of the turn to the next barrel, turning on a dime. The last barrel went just as perfect as the first, and it was time to turn and burn.

            Nicole let the horse go all out, using the excess length of reins to keep the horse going straight while letting out “Ya”s to encourage the mare.

            After hitting the last time sensor Nicole pulled up slightly, slowing down the horse slowly. She listened for the time.

            “With a time of 15.01, Nicole Haught and Whiskey take the lead,” The announcer called before the next round.

            Nicole pumped her fist and patted the horse, “Good job girl, good job,”

            Nicole cooled her horse down and prepped for the short round. With a time like that she knew she would be going in either first or second.

            A familiar looking chestnut horse rode up next to her. Nicole instantly recognized the blonde from her first rodeo in Purgatory not too long ago.

            “Damn, you are going to run us locals out of town at this rate,” The blonde smirked.

            “Not my intention, but thank you for the vote of confidence,” Nicole gave a smile.

            “I missed you at the barn dance last time out,” the blonde pulled her horse up fairly close, she reached out a hand and Nicole shook it, “I’m Amanda,”

            “I got side tracked, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Nicole,”

            “Well, if you are looking to get side tracked again at the barn dance tonight, just let me know. You’ll find me near the bar,” The blonde gave her a wink before turning her horse away.

            Nicole watched Amanda’s horse trot away. She shook her head, unsure if Amanda was serious or just trying to get in her head before the short round.

 

            In the end it didn’t matter if it was Amanda’s tactic or not. Whiskey and Nicole were a force to be reckoned with. In the short round the team turned in a 14.7 time, locking in the event win for the evening.

            Nicole would argue that the $1,000 and the belt buckle was nothing compared to the prize of having Waverly slide up next to her at a table, a beer for each of them.

            “A beer for the Rodeo Prodigy,” Waverly said.

            “Thank you very much, but please never call me that again,” Nicole laughed.

            “To two buckles, twice in a row,” Waverly clinked her bottle against Nicole’s.

            “It’s pretty crazy, isn’t it?” Nicole smiled.

            “Well, I for one, am very impressed,” Waverly admitted.

            “And I am very flattered,”

            A local band occupied the stage in the dimly lit barn-bar. They started up in to a line dance.

            “Do they have line dancing in Indiana?” Waverly asked.

            Nicole nodded, “It’s the Midwest, not a foreign land,”

            “Well, do you know how to line dance?”

            Nicole threw back the remainder of her beer and stood, offering her hand to Waverly, “Do I ever,”

            Waverly took her hand and they headed out onto the dance floor with a sizable group. The pair joined a line and Nicole could feel the butterflies in her stomach. Despite her outward confidence, it had been a minute since she had last line danced. The first song wasn’t one she knew, so she tried her best to follow along with what Waverly and the rest of the crowd was doing.

            As the song came to an end the crowd clapped. Then the band started right up into a familiar song that garnered the hoops and howlers of everyone on the floor. The opening bars of Cotton Eyed Joe rang true and clear in the dance hall.

            Nicole threw one arm over Waverly’s shoulder and Waverly linked up to the person next to her. The chain stomped once, kicked, took three steps back and then shuffled forward. They followed the pattern like old pros, and Waverly was surprised at how easy it came to Nicole after watching her struggle slightly at the first song.

            Waverly couldn’t help but smile as the chain broke apart to the beat of the song to turn and mimic throwing a lasso. They all linked back up and continued the pattern until the line dance classic came to an end.

            The band transitioned into a slower song meant for couples dancing.

            “How about a two-step?” Nicole asked, offering her hand to the smaller women.

            “If I’m being honest, I don’t know how to two-step,” Waverly admitted.

            Nicole gasped in mock horror, “Really? I just figured they teach western dancing in schools out here. Well, I’ll teach you. I promise I’m a great lead,”

            Waverly felt herself blush and hopped that the dim light hid it from the ever watchful eyes of Nicole.

            Waverly took the taller women’s hand, resting her other hand on Nicole’s arm.

            “See, you already know the proper position for the dance hold,” Nicole said, “You are like half way to two stepping,”

            “Follow my lead,” Nicole said. She walked them forward, two quick steps, and two slow steps. After the first set she called the steps out loud to Waverly, “Quick, quick, slooww, sloowww,” Nicole repeated.

            Waverly quickly got the hang of it and soon they were smoothly two stepping around the dance floor.

            “This is a lot easier than I had anticipated,” Waverly smiled up at Nicole.

            “Clearly its all in the teaching,” Nicole winked.           

            “There you go with that big head of yours again,”

            Nicole deftly spun Waverly to the song without missing a beat.

            Once the song was over the pair headed back to their seat and Waverly got them each a new drink.

            “You didn’t tell me you knew your way around a dance floor,” Waverly eyeballed Nicole.

            “You never asked,” Nicole paused. She could see Champ over Waverly’s shoulder. He was limping, but making a steady pace towards them.

            “Waverly, We got trouble, 6 o’clock,” Nicole said.

            Waverly turned around to see an intoxicated Champ limping and staggering their way. He had gotten thrown on his first bull of the night and clearly had been pounding back the pills and the beers ever since.

            “I saw all of that you know,” He said motioning to the two of them.

            “All of what?” Waverly asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

            “All that… dancing,” He grasped the table next to him to lean against.

            “Champ, you are fucked up,” Waverly stated the obvious.

            “You used to never line dance with me. Why are you line dancing with her?” Champ pointed a finger at Nicole.

            “I wouldn’t line dance with you because you never wanted to!” Waverly reminded him, “And Nicole and I are friends, so why don’t you back off,”

            “You know, there are plenty of rumors about Purgatory’s newest hotshot barrel racer going around,” He looked Nicole up and down. He seemed to think for a second before hobbling away.

            “What the heck was that?” Waverly asked before taking a long draft form her beer.

            “It looks to me like you dancing with me threatened him,” Nicole observed.

            “And what was that line about there being rumors? Who would ever talk ill of you?”

            “Waverly,” Nicole gave her a look while motioning to her outfit, “I’m not _that_ hard to read. It’s not like it’s a secret or anything,” Nicole said.

            It took a second for what Nicole was saying to click in Waverly’s head, “Oh… about you being a lesbian,”

            Nicole nodded, draining the last of the contents of her beer.

            Nicole looked back out at the dance floor and spotted Dolls and Wynonna dancing, “Looks like Wynonna got her answer,”

            Waverly’s jaw almost hit the floor. Her sister didn’t dance, “ Oh my god, Wynonna does not dance, at least not to country music,”

            “Looks like she does now,” Nicole chuckled.

            “She must have it bad for him,” Waverly shook her head, “She thought you and him were an item,”

            Nicole spit out the last sip of beer, “I’m sorry, what?”

            “Yeah she thought you two were dating. She was really surprised when I said you weren’t,”

            “Oh, that’s hilarious,” Nicole shook her head. She grabbed Waverly’s empty glass, “Want a refill?”

            “Yes please, I’ll hold down the fort,” Waverly responded, dramatically claiming the empty table by spreading her hands wide on it.

            Nicole snaked her way through the crowd to the bar. And waited for an opportunity to flag down the busy bar tender.

            “I thought you might not show up once again,” Amanda’s voice rang over the sound of the music.

            Nicole turned to her right to see Amanda, still dressed in her white chaps and matching shirt, seated on a bar stool.

            “I didn’t get side tracked this time,”

            “Let me buy you a drink,” Amanda offered, the intention of her actions clear in the sparkle of her eye.

            Nicole looked down a moment then back up at Amanda, “I’m sorry, but I’m here with a friend,”

            Amanda’s eyes darted to Waverly across the barn, “Yeah, I saw you two dancing. Too bad,” Amanda shrugged, “Waverly is as straight as they come,” Amanda said the second part in a more hushed tone for only Nicole to hear.

            Nicole was beginning to think that that assessment wasn’t 100% accurate, but she wasn’t going to say anything, “We are really good friends, and my friend needs me tonight, I’m sorry,”

            “Suit yourself,” Amanda turned and flagged down the bar tender and directed him to Nicole, “When you are done playing house with Waverly, call me,” She slipped a napkin into Nicole’s shirt pocket.

            Nicole collected the two beers and headed back to their table.

            “Well that was weird,” Nicole said with a puzzled look on her face as she handed Waverly her beer.

            “What was weird?” Waverly asked.

            “I got accosted at the bar by a barrel racer named Amanda,” Nicole fished the napkin out of her pocket, “Even when I turned down her advances she still insisted on giving me this,”

            Waverly took the paper napkin from her and looked at the number scrawled across it.

            “Ah, you met Amanda Kesler. Nice girl, didn’t know she swung that way though,” She handed back the number and took a drink, “goes to show you cant always read people,”

            “That’s very true,” Nicole nodded.

            “Can I ask why you turned her down?”

            Nicole thought for a second to collect herself. She didn’t want to tell Waverly the real reason, that she said no because she had a hopeless crush on her, “I’m just not feeling it. Plus I promised you I would stick with you tonight,”

            “Don’t let me cramp your style, Nicole,” Waverly nudged her. Her own words rang hallow in her own ears. She didn’t want Nicole to have any ‘style’ with anyone else.

            Nicole pretended to contemplate it, “Hmmm, I’m having plenty of fun right now with you,” She clinked her beer against Waverly’s.

            “Nice dancing out there Ms. Haught, Ms. Earp,” Doc tipped his hat as he approached the two women.

            “Thank you very much,” Waverly beamed.

            “And nice rodeoing today,” He placed his hands on his belt.

            “Thank you sir,”

            “And if I might say, that logo looks nice on your shirt,” He gently plucked the lettering on the back of Nicole’s shirt.

            “Thank you so much for the sponsorship, it means the world to us,” Nicole said genuinely.

            “Well, I am glad to help,” He looked from Nicole to Waverly, “I will hurry along now. I would hate to infringe upon your evening together once again,”

            Doc tipped his hat and moved on, disappearing into the crowd.

           

            Nicole and Waverly stumbled out of barn, “You are not driving home,” Nicole observed, “And I cannot drive you home either,”

            “Can I crash with you in your trailer?” Waverly asked.           

            “Of course, but its tight quarters,” Nicole warned.

            “That hasn’t been a problem for us in the past,” Waverly smiled.

            Nicole could feel the butterflies in her stomach, “Fair enough I guess,”

            They made their way back to Nicole’s trailer. Nicole flipped the light on and they spilled into the small living quarters, Waverly bumped into Nicole and she steadied her.

            “Careful there,” Nicole smiled down.

            Nicole turned and grabbed the whiskey out of a cabinet and poured two glasses, handing one to Waverly. Nicole took her hat off, setting it in the wardrobe and kicked off her boots.

            Waverly leaned against the counter, sipping the whiskey, “You haven’t learned yet have you,”

            “I have yet to experience a reason to not give an Earp whiskey,” Nicole unbuttoned her shirt reveling a black V-neck t-shirt, hanging it up.

            “Do you own stock in basic cotton v neck shirts?” Waverly asked, tugging lightly on the material.

            “Does Wynonna own stock in a leather jacket company?” Nicole countered.

            Waverly tipped her glass before draining its contents.

            "Hey, I still want to talk to you about that night you slept over at our house," Wavlery said, emboldened by the liquor.

            "Waves, we don't have to if you don't want to," Nicole insisted. 

            "I'm not crazy am I?" Waverly asked, "There's something going on here, right?"

            "Yeah, I mean I think it might be more of a personal thing though," Nicole was uneasy and unsure as to why Waverly would suddenly want to discuss her sisters drinking habit now.

            "I mean I think it's personal for the both of us," Waverly motioned between them.

            Nicole screwed her face up in confusion, "Maybe we should talk about this another time. Ready to hit the hay?”

            Waverly wasn’t ready for bed yet but also didn’t know how to convey what she was feeling to Nicole.

            “Yeah, as long as the bed isn’t made of literal hay,”

            “I promise, its not,” Nicole chuckled.

            Nicole helped Waverly climb up into the sleeper compartment. She flicked off the light and climbed up after her. They slid under the covers.

            “I hope you don’t mind if I koala you again,” Waverly snuggled close to her.

            “Trust me, I don’t mind one bit,” Nicole said, her voice revealing a bit more than she had intended.

            Waverly smiled. Wrapping her arm around Nicole.


	9. Chapter 9

Nicole was settling in to her new job. It was a balancing act while trying to help out the Earp sisters. Dr. Nedley had given her a tour of the animal hospital first thing on Monday, but with it only being her third day on the job, she still found herself getting turned around while trying to navigate the hospital.

            She was camped out at the front desk, completing order forms for various supplies the doctors need.

            “I need to introduce Nedley to the magic of online ordering,” Nicole said to herself.            

            She had never worked any kind of desk job; she caught herself watching the clock more than once. Her cell phone rang, she knew she wasn’t really supposed to answer her phone at work, but both the vets were out.

            When she saw that it was Wynonna calling she answered it immediately.

            “Hey Nicole, sorry to bother you at your new job and all, but I need your help,” Wynonna’s voice came over the line.           

            “What’s wrong?”

            “Waverly stormed out, started walking down the highway. She got some… bad news today,” Wynonna said.

            “What do you need me to do?” Nicole asked.

            “Could you maybe hunt her down? I don’t think she wants to hear from the likes of anyone in the family right now,”

            “Yeah no problem, just tell me which direction she was headed,”

           

 

            Nicole slowed her truck down once she saw the small women walking down the side of the road, arms crossed and jacket pulled tight against the chilly fall air.

            Nicole rolled her window down and slowed down to Waverly speed.

            “Waverly, what are you doing?”            

            “Being alone, leave me alone,” Waverly harrumphed and continued marching down the side of the road.

            “Come on Waves, get in the truck,” Nicole watched the women with slight concern.

            “Over my dead body,” Waverly sneered.

            “I’ve got my .22 in here, it could be arranged if you really want. Come on Waves, you’ve marched yourself into the next county. Get in or you will have to walk all the way back to the homestead,”

            Waverly stopped walking so abruptly that Nicole almost drove on without her. Nicole brought the truck to a stop and Waverly climbed inside. Nicole turned the truck around and pulled it off to the side of the road.

            “Let’s talk,”

            “First you want to talk, then you don’t want to talk,”

            Nicole looked a bit taken aback, “Well maybe we should figure out what we are talking about?”

            “Gus is selling Shorty’s. She acts like she wont, but she is. And everything is changing around me. But its all too fast, ya know? And its like nobody ever asks me if I’m ok with it. Wynonna came back into town out of the blue, we had to exercise the spirits of my dad and big sister out of our house. Could everybody just stand still for one fucking minute?” Waverly’s voice rose as she spoke, her tone threatening tears. At the end she let out a deep sigh.

            Nicole leaned forward, touching Waverly’s knee, “Hey, it’s going to be ok,”

            Waverly looked down at Nicole’s hand on her knee. It looked wrong and it felt wrong. She turned her head slowly and looked and Nicole. Nicole pulled her hand away, feeling that the vibe was off.           

            “I just yelled at you, you shouldn’t be nice to me,” Waverly said.

            Nicole let out a half laugh and sat back in the seat, “ Yeah well I think you just been dating too many shit heads,”

            Waverly’s head snapped in Nicole’s direction, “We’re not dating,”

            The slight smirk fell from Nicole’s face, concern evident, “I know. God, Waverly I would never ask you to be someone you’re not,”

            “Good, just don’t ask me to be anyone at all,”

            “Fine,” Nicole said with a bit more force than she had planed.

            “Fine,” Waverly echoed.

            Nicole looked at her and started to say something, but closed her mouth and looked straight ahead instead.

            Remorse started to creep up Waverly’s throat. She didn’t want this to be the end of their friendship, and she had almost hoped Nicole would insist that there was something more going on.

            “Well, maybe just friends?” Waverly said, quietly this time.

            Nicole hadn’t expected anything from Waverly, she knew better than that; regardless she felt like the wind had been let out of her sails. She let out a half laugh and nodded her head, “Yeah, sure Waverly. What ever you want,” She started up the truck. And Pulled off the side of the road.

            They sat in silence as Nicole drove Waverly back to her house, her grip maybe just a little too tight on the steering wheel. When she pulled up the drive she put the truck in park.

            Nicole felt sick to her stomach; “I’m leaving for Mesa first thing in the morning. I’ll be driving back up on Monday,” Nicole said.

            “Text me when you get there?” Waverly asked.

            “Yeah, of course,” Nicole forced a smile.

            “And let me know how you do. Tell Whiskey good luck for me,”

            “I’ll give her an extra carrot for you,” Nicole nodded.

            Waverly looked as if she was going to say something, but then she didn’t. Instead she got out of the truck, one last lingering look before heading inside.

 

           

            Nicole didn’t want to leave, not being on thin ice with Waverly.

            Just friends reverberated through her as she finished packing her trailer and readying it for Whiskey. They had a long drive ahead of them.           

            Nicole had meant what she said, she would never ask Waverly to be someone she wasn’t. But Nicole didn’t buy the just friends line.

            There was something there, and it was palpable every time they were near each other. The glances, the lingering touches, the time Waverly leaned in as if she was going to kiss Nicole.

            Nicole shook her head to herself; maybe it had all been wishful thinking, all one-sided.

            She got Whiskey into the trailer and double checked one more time that everything was ready.

            She ran inside to grab the coffee she had made. She fed Janey and made sure the water dispenser was extra full. She locked the door and got into the truck, firing it up.

           

            Waverly got to work early, parking her jeep in front of Shorty’s. She walked inside and hung up her coat.

            “Hey Waverly,” Gus was standing at the bar, stooped over some paperwork.

            Waverly walked over, “So you are doing it. You’re selling Shorty’s?”

            Gus sighed. She knew she was going to have to face her niece sooner or later, “Since Curtis died decisions had to be made. I know you don’t believe me but you were not born to be a Goddamned small town waitress,”

            “Yeah, I believe you, but I have like 3 shirts that say Shorty’s,” Waverly shot back.

            “Its in the agreement, Shorty’s will never get torn down,” Gus explained, “You can work here in as many shirts as you want, for as long as you want,”

            “That’s not the point,” Waverly protested.

            “But… When you decide you are ready to un-stick those wings of yours,” Gus paused and pulled something out of her back pocket and handed it to Waverly.

            It was a check, with a sizable amount written on it.

            “Don’t cash that for a week or so,” Gus warned.

            Waverly held it, looking down at it in confusion, “What is this?”

            Gus leaned over, giving the check a flick with her finger, “Its freedom, Honey! You’ve been doing what others want you to do for so long. Now you can do whatever it is that you want,”

            Waverly rolled her eyes, “Which is what?”

            “Live your life,” Gus said it as though it was obvious, “Remember, some of the best things in life are the surprises it throws us… About what we want; _who_ we want,” Gus gave her a small wink, “You’ve always been an honest kid, don’t stop now,”

            Waverly smiled at her aunt. For all intensive purposes, Gus had been her mother since she was 6 years old. Gus knew her better than anyone.

            “What do you mean?” Waverly asked, a small smile on her lips.

            “You know exactly what I mean,” Gus gave her one of her famous pointed looks.            She tapped the papers against the bar top.

           

            Waverly waited anxiously for the text from Nicole saying she was back. Their communication had been sparse all weekend. Just the basics, just what Waverly had asked Nicole to send. She had won the semipro round at the barrel racing competition.

            After the run in with Amanda, Waverly could only imagine the kind of attention Nicole was getting this weekend down in Mesa. She shouldn’t feel this jealous; she had turned Nicole down after all. And Nicole was an attractive young woman.

            When Monday afternoon rolled around Waverly drove out to the vet clinic on a mission. Gus’s words range in Waverly’s ears as she drove to the clinic.

 

            Nicole winced when the phone rang, Mrs. Wilson’s number on the caller ID.

            She forced a breath out and picked up the line, plastering on her best customer service voice.

            “Purgatory Veterinary Clinic, This is Nicole speaking, how can I help you?”

            Nicole listened to Mrs. Wilson ramble on, nodding along despite Mrs. Wilson not being able to see. This was the fourth time Mrs. Wilson had called that day asking to talk to Dr. Nedley about dosage of a medication for her old beagle.

            Nicole read off a sheet of paper Nedley had left for her with the exact dosage information.

            The front door jingled as it opened. Nicole was surprised to see Waverly walk through the door.

            Nicole held up one finger as she attempted to finish up the conversation.

            “Yes. I promise he will give you a call when he gets back…. Yes….. No problem.... call if you have any questions… have a nice evening…”

            Nicole hung up and looked up at Waverly, “What are you-“

            Waverly cut her off, “Nedley out on calls?” She asked.

            “Yeah, a colic call, he wont be back for hours,”

            “And Dr. Firman?”

            “Already went home for the day, why what’s wrong?” Nicole was concerned.

            Waverly didn’t speak; instead she reached across the counter and grabbed Nicole’s hand, dragging her up out of the chair.

            Waverly dragged Nicole into the waiting room.

            “What’s going on?” Nicole demanded.

            Waverly pulled the blinds on the window into the reception area and closed the door behind them.

            “What is your problem?” Nicole didn’t get an answer.

            Waverly placed a hand on either side of Nicole’s face and kissed her with a little more fever than originally planned.

            Nicole was taken aback, surprised, she moved backwards as Waverly walked them to the waiting room couch.

            It was intense, and Nicole could feel both of them loosing control.

            Nicole pulled away, putting a bit of space between them, “What happened to friends?”

            Waverly sat back, slightly out of breath, “Do you know what I’ve always wanted to do?”

            “What?” Nicole’s voice raised an octave.

            “Jump out of a plane at 30,000 feet; to learn how to scuba dive, to go to Paris,”

            Nicole’s face was screwed up in confusion.

            “My point is, I want to do things that scare me. But its hard to be brazen when the thing that you want most, that scares you most, is right in front of you,”  
            Nicole sat up a bit, smirking, “I scare you?”

            “Yes, yes you do. I don’t want to be friends. When I think about what I want to do most in this world… its you,”

            A smile spread across Nicole’s face.

            Waverly looked away, eyebrows knit together, “Wow, that sounded so much more romantic in my head… just, jump in whenever, because I really don’t know how to do this,”

            Something had changed in Nicole’s face, “Oh, I’m sure you do,”

            Waverly was surprised by how it affected her, “Maybe I should stop talking?”

            Nicole leaned up, grabbing the scarf around her neck.

            “Maybe you should stop talking too?” Waverly rambled.

            “Maybe you should make me,” Nicole had a devilish grin on her face.

            Waverly leaned forward; kissing with a hunger she hadn’t even realized she was capable of.

            Nicole rose up to meet her; this was what she had waited so long for.

            She sat up, pushing Waverly back and resting her hips between Waverly’s legs.

            She gripped Waverly’s thigh, pulling it up, trying to get closer.

            Waverly pulled away slightly to catch her breathe, “Why didn’t we start doing this sooner?”

            Nicole gave her a quick kiss, “Because you wanted to be friends,”

            “Well, that was dumb,” Waverly pulled Nicole back down to meet her lips.

           

            The ringing of the front bell startled both of them. Nicole jumped up, kissing Waverly one more time and frantically tried to tuck her shirt back in.

            She went out to great whoever had entered the office.

            Waverly straightened out her shirt and listened to the conversation.

            “Yes, Mrs. Wilson. I understand,”

            “Who’s in the waiting room?”

            “Grieving parakeet owner, they want their privacy,”

            Waverly stifled a laugh.

            Once she heard the bell ring again she poked her head out the door.

            “It’s all clear,” Nicole smiled.

            Waverly came out of the room, “Grieving parakeet owner?”

            Nicole shrugged, “I panicked,”

            “Clearly,”

            Nicole circled her arms around Waverly’s waist, giving her a quick sweet kiss.

            “So, where do we go from here?” Nicole asked tentatively.

            “That’s a good question,” Waverly responded, “What would you usually do in a situation like this?”

            “Ask you on a date,”

            “Well, a date it is,” Waverly nodded, “tomorrow night?”


	10. Chapter 10

            Waverly was tearing apart her closet, unsure what to wear. Nicole had mentioned a nice dinner, but how nice? She found a little black cocktail dress.

            She slipped down the stairs, hoping to go unnoticed by Wynonna.

            “Hey, baby girl, where are you going all dressed up like that?”

            “Nicole and I are going to dinner at Manicotti's in town,” Waverly said as she slipped on her heels.

            “Girls night out on the town!” Wynonna smiled, “Have fun,”            

            Waverly rolled her eyes and hurried out the door when she saw the headlights through the window.

            She rubbed her palms against the fabric of her dress to dry them; her heart beating a thousand beats per second.

            Nicole stepped out of the truck a vision. Her hair was down, hanging in loose curls. A flowing black dress framed her figure well and heels accentuated her height.

            They hugged briefly, Waverly taking in the soft scent of an expensive perfume on Nicole’s skin.

            “Are you ready?” Nicole asked.

            “Yes,” Waverly smiled as Nicole opened the door for her.

            Waverly felt like butterflies were trying to migrate through her stomach. She stole another glance at Nicole.

            “You look beautiful,” Waverly said softly.

            Nicole felt the heat flash up her chest and neck, “Thank you. I ah, you look stunning,”

            “We clean up pretty well, don’t we?”

            “We do,” Nicole nodded, “But I changed the oil the truck today and couldn’t get my hands completely clean,” She held up her hand.

            Waverly took the hand in hers, hoping it didn’t feel too clammy.

            When they finally pulled up to the restaurant Waverly chuckled.

            “We are probably a sight to be seen,”

            “How so?”

            “Two drop dead gorgeous women in dresses and heels getting out a dirty old Chevy and going on a date,” Waverly bumped shoulders with Nicole.

            They walked in and Nicole gave the name for the reservation as Waverly took in their surroundings. Everything felt soft and expensive. Lush carpeting under their feet and classic red tones decorating the walls.

            They were seated and each ordered a glass of wine.

            “This place is really nice,” Waverly raised an eyebrow.

            “I just really wanted to take you out and show you off,” Nicole reached across the table and squeezed Waverly’s hand.

            After perusing the menu they placed their orders and sipped their wine.

            “You really do look stunning,” Waverly said, “We need to dress up more often. Not that you don’t always look great; its just I really like this side of you too,” Waverly paused, “I’m rambling now,”

            Nicole set down her wine glass, “I think I like when you ramble,”

            Waverly looked into Nicole’s eyes, and seeing the glint there made her smile.

            One of the waiters approached their table. Waverly looked around the dining room and saw multiple waiters converging on the dining room.

            “Ladies, I’m so sorry to tell you, but unfortunately there has been a gas line accident down the road from us and as a result, we cannot continue with dinner service tonight. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Don’t worry about your check, it’s on us,”

            Nicole looked at Waverly her face a touch crestfallen.

            “It’s alright,” Waverly drained her glass, “Let's head out,”

            She took Nicole’s hand and lead them back to the truck, “I know a place,”

            Nicole drove, following Waverly’s instructions.

            They ended up on a diner just outside of Purgatory.

            “Mary Ann’s Diner?” Nicole asked as she put the truck in park.

            “Best food in town, and its open past 8 pm which makes it the only option in Purgatory.

            They hopped out of the truck and walked hand in hand up to the dinner.

            The older waitress gave them a double take as they walked in, “Have a seat where ever you like,”

            The two sat down. Nicole looked around; the only other occupants of the diner were older, gruff looking men. Most were in Carhartt jackets and caps, most likely truckers stopping for a bite to eat.

            “Well, we are a bit overdressed,” Waverly followed Nicole’s eyes.

            “Only a touch,” Nicole chuckled.

            The waitress came over, wordlessly pouring them glasses of water, “What can I get you two started with?”

            “I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger, medium rare,” Waverly said.

            “Soup or salad?”

            “Salad please,” Waverly smiled.

            “And how about you,” The waitress turned to Nicole.

            “Can I have the club wrap?”

            The waitress gave them one last look before walking back to the kitchen to submit their order.

            “So not exactly Manicotti's, but still good food and good company,” Waverly touched the back of Nicole’s hand.

            Nicole smiled softly, the feeling of Waverly’s touch anchoring her.

            “Great company,” Nicole winked.

            Nicole took another look at the other patrons. Her jaw clenched when she noticed the familiar gaze coming from a lot of the other diner goers. It was the same look she had been greeted with when she first held a girls hand in public or the first time she took her first girlfriend on a date.

            There was judgment, disapproval, in the eyes of the people around them. She was sure that Waverly hadn’t noticed. It wasn’t something she had ever experienced before; she had no reason to have.

            It was things like this that made Nicole hate small towns. She chastised herself for thinking that a different small town would be any different than the one she ran from.

            A scowl had crept over Nicole’s face despite her best effort.

            “What are you thinking about so hard there, cowgirl?” Waverly reached out and touched her had.

            Nicole softened at the touch and the nickname. She didn’t want to spoil the night with her own demons.

            Nicole glued her eyes to the gorgeous women before her.

            “Sorry, sometimes I suck at living in the present,”

            “I know how that feels,” Waverly smiled softly.

            The waitress brought out their food and they dug in; both starving due to the delay in having dinner.

            After a sideways glance as they walked out of the diner hand-in-hand Nicole helped Waverly into her truck. She hesitated before starting the truck, not exactly wanting to let the night end.

            “I’ve had a good time tonight, despite the hick up at the restaurant,” Nicole said.

            Waverly reached over and squeezed her hand, “Me too,” Waverly leaned over and kissed her sweetly on the lips, “I don’t want the night to end,”

            “What do you have in mind?” Nicole gave her a grin.

            “Can we maybe do drinks at your place?” Waverly asked.

            “I would love nothing more,” Nicole smiled.

           

            On the drive back to Nicole’s there was a palpable energy in the cab of the pickup truck. Waverly kept one hand on Nicole’s knee as they drove, unbuckling her seatbelt and scooting closer to Nicole on the bench seat. She caught herself placing a kiss on the exposed skin of Nicole’s shoulder once or twice.

            Once Nicole parked the truck Waverly took the opportunity to kiss Nicole, “Did I mention how amazing you look tonight?” Waverly asked as she pushed her hair to one side.

            Nicole answered by kissing her. Things quickly heated up in the cab of the old truck. Nicole broke away, “Let's take this inside,”

            She helped Waverly down and led her up the steps of her porch, fumbling with the key to unlock the front door.

            Once past the threshold the two women hastily removed their shoes. Nicole gently grabbed Waverly by the hips, backing her up against the wall of the hallway. She teasingly nipped at Waverly’s lip.

            Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck and brought her lips down to hers, kissing her hard.

            Nicole was mindful of where her hands went; she didn’t want to push Waverly too far too soon. But Waverly didn’t have the same self-control; this was too new and exciting. It was like the first time she ever made out with someone again, except much, much better. As far as she was concerned, all the others in her past didn’t count.

            Waverly pushed off the wall leading Nicole over to the couch, Nicole followed her lead, and without breaking the kiss lifted her, setting her down gently on the couch. She slid on top of her.

            They got to pick up where they had been interrupted the day before. Exploring hands and heavy breaths. Soon Nicole found her lips on Waverly’s throat, and she swore that the way Waverly moaned softly at the contact was going to be the death of her.

            When Nicole felt Waverly’s hands start to push up the bottom of her dress she propped herself up and looked down into Waverly’s deep brown eyes, only inches away.

            “Hey,” Nicole kissed her lips.

            Nicole saw fear flash across the brunettes face, “Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

            Nicole shook her head, “No, trust me you are doing everything right,” She leaned down and kissed her nose, “Perfect actually. I just don’t want to rush you into doing something you aren’t ready for,”

            Waverly took a deep breath.

            “If you want to keep going, I'm happy too. But if not, I'm also perfectly happy to stop for tonight and maybe watch a movie and have a couple drinks?”

            Waverly was suddenly aware of how far up Nicole’s dress her hands were and the direction they were headed.

            “I think I’m down for a movie,” Waverly said sheepishly.

            Nicole kissed Waverly one last time, “There is plenty of time for us to do things going forward,” Nicole stood up, helping Waverly up.

            They headed upstairs and Nicole lent Waverly some comfy clothes.

            “Could you give me a hand?” Nicole asked turning around and moving her hair to the side exposing the zipper of her dress. Waverly reached out and unzipped the dress, pushing the shoulders down the sides of her arms. She lightly traced the scars from the barn attack on Nicole’s back, healed now but the skin was still pink and angry.

            “I’m still so sorry,” She said placing a light kiss on Nicole’s shoulder.

            “And you still have nothing to be sorry for,” Nicole said softly.

            She stepped just out of Waverly’s touch and walked around the shorter women, slowly unzipping the dress. She let her finger lightly drag on Waverly’s skin, knowing exactly the response it would elicit.

            They changed their clothes, both trying to sneak a glimpse of the other.

            Nicole had resisted the urge to kiss Waverly for so long that now that she had the opportunity she couldn’t help herself. She gave waver a quick kiss before heading downstairs.

            They settled in, Nicole sitting long ways on the couch, Waverly nestled in, her back pressed against the taller woman's chest. Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly’s waist.

            Nicole couldn’t pinpoint when, but at some point, Waverly had taken her hands into her own. She studied them closely.

            “What’s this scar from?” She asks pointing to a horseshoe-shaped scar on the side of Nicole’s left hand.

            “When I was a kid I was playing hide and seek with my brother in the barn, I didn’t see a nail sticking out of the wall in the old hay loft. I caught my hand as I rounded the corner and it just sliced me. The rotation of my body gave me the lovely shape,” Nicole traced the old scar with her free hand, “Took a number of stitches to get it to stop bleeding,”

            Waverly raised the hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to the scar, “What about this one?” She pointed to a long thin scar down Nicole’s right arm, “I rode my first horse through the trees on our land when I lost control of her and she decided we were going to go her way, I got all scrapped up by some brush and tree branches, this one was deep enough to scar,”

            Waverly was satisfied with this, “Do you have a lot of scars?”

            “When you work hard for a living, scars are part of the game, but every scar has a story and every scar has a memory,” Nicole propped up her leg, pulling up her sweatpant leg, “See this scar here?”

            Waverly took in the thick, gnarly scar on her ankle, “Yeah, looks like it hurt like hell,”

            “Oh it did,” Nicole smiled, “But it reminds me of a happy time. I got that the night my friends and I broke into a music festival. There was a fairly large group of acts in town, including Garth Brooks. But none of us could afford the tickets so we hopped the fence. I got caught in the barbed wire at the top; I lost one of my favorite shirts trying to get it to stop bleeding. But it was all worth it to get to hear The Thunder Rolls live. I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Nicole said.

            “Wow, that’s kind of bad ass,”

            “Ive been known to be cool every once in awhile,” Nicole conceded.

           

            Later that night Nicole drove Waverly home, giving her a quick kiss before watching her disappear into the old farmhouse.            

            Nicole shook her head, “Waverly Earp, you are one amazing woman,” She said before pulling away from the homestead.

           


End file.
